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THE     CRATER. 


THE     CEATEE; 


OB, 


VULCAN'S  PEAK. 


A  TALE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 


BY 

J.    FENIMORE    COOPEE. 


u  Thus  arise 
Races  of  living  things,  glorious  in  strength, 
And  perish,  as  the  quickening  breath  of  God 
Fills  them,  or  is  withdrawn. 

BKttun& 


ILLUSTRATED       FROM      DRAWINGS       BV 

<f.  ©.  C.  farlcg. 


NEW  YORK: 
PUBLISHED   BY  HURD  AND   HOUGHTON 

dtambrllae:  S&ibevsftie  13vess 
1872. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  lS6t  by 

W.  A.  TOWNSEND  AND  COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  Tork. 


RIVERSIDE,     CAMBRIDGE:      , 
PRINTED    BY    H.    O.    HOUGHTON   AND   COMPANY. 


iqcA 


PREFACE. 


The  reader  of  this  book  will  very  naturally  be  disposed 
to  ask  the  question,  why  the  geographies,  histories,  and 
other  works  of  a  similar  character,  have  never  male  any 
mention  of  the  regions  and  events  that  compose  its  sub- 
ject. The  answer  is  obvious  enough,  and  ought  to  satis- 
fy every  mind,  however  "  inquiring."  The  fact  is,  that 
the  authors  of  the  different  works  to  which  there  is  any 
allusion,  most  probably  never  heard  there  were  any  such 
places  as  the  Reef,  Rancocus  Island,  Vulcan's  Peak,  the 
Crater,  and  the  other  islands  of  which  so  much  is  said  in 
our  pages.  In  other  words,  they  knew  nothing  about 
them. 

We  shall  very  freely  admit  that,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, it  would  be  prima  facie  evidence  against 
the  existence  of  any  spot  on  the  face  of  this  earth,  that 
the  geographies  took  no  notice  of  it.  It  will  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  the  time  was,  and  that  only 
three  centuries  and  a  half  since,  when  the  geographies 


VI  PREFACE. 


did  not  contain  a  syllable  about  the  whole  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent ;  that  it  is  not  a  century  since  they  began 
to  describe  New  Zealand,  New  Holland,  Tahiti,  Oahu, 
and  a  vast  number  of  other  places,  that  are  now  con- 
stantly alluded  to,  even  in  the  daily  journals.  Very  lit- 
tle is  said  in  the  largest  geographies,  of  Japan,  for  in- 
stance ;  and  it  may  be  questioned  if  they  might  not  just 
as  well  be  altogether  silent  on  the  subject,  as  for  any  ac-  . 
curate  information  they  do  convey.  In  a  word,  much 
as  is  now  known  of  the  globe,  a  great  deal  still  remains 
to  be  told,  and  we  do  not  see  why  the  "inquiring  mind" 
should  not  seek  for  information  in  our  pages,  as  well  as 
in  some  that  are  ushered  into  public  notice  by  a  nourish 
of  literary  trumpets,  that  are  blown  by  presidents,  vice- 
presidents,  and  secretaries  of  various  learned  bodies. 

One  thing  we  shall  ever  maintain,  and  that  in  the 
face  of  all  who  may  be  disposed  to  underrate  the  value  of 
our  labors,  which  is  this:  there  is  not  a  word  in  these 
volumes  which  we  now  lay  before  the  reader,  as  grave 
matter  of  fact,  that  is  not  entitled  to  the  most  implicit 
credit.  We  scorn  deception.  Lest,  however,  some  cavillers 
may  be  found,  we  will  present  a  few  of  those  reasons 
which  occur  to  our  mind,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  as 
tending  to  show  that  every  thing  related  here  might  be 
just  as  true  as  Cook's  voyages  themselves.  In  the  first 
place,  this  earth  is  large,  and  has  sufficient  surface  to 
contain,  not  only  all  the  islands  mentioned  in  our  pages, 
but  a  great  many  more.     Something  is  established  when 


PKEFACE. 


the  possibility  of  any  hypothetical  point  is  placed  beyond 
dispute.  Then,  not  one  half  as  much  was  known  of  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  at  the  close  of  the  last,  and  at  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century,  as  is  known  to- 
day. In  such  a  dearth  of  precise  information,  it  may 
very  well  have  happened  that  many  things  occurred 
touching  which  we  have  not  said  even  one  word.  Again, 
it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  generations  were  born, 
lived  their  time,  died,  and  have  been  forgotten,  among 
those  remote  groups,  about  which  no  civilized  man  ever 
has,  or  ever  will  hear  any  thing.  If  such  be  admitted  to 
be  the  facts,  why  may  not  all  that  is  here  related  have 
haj^pened,  and  equally  escape  the  knowledge  of  the  rest 
of  the  civilized  world  ?  During  the  wars  of  the  French 
Revolution,  trifling  events  attracted  but  little  of  the  gen- 
eral attention,  and  we  are  not  to  think  of  interests  of  this 
nature,  in  that  day,  as  one  would  think  of  them  now. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  authenticity  of  its 
incidents.,  we  hope  this  book  will  be  found  not  to  be  to- 
tally without  a  moral.  Truth  is  not  absolutely  necessary 
to  the  illustration  of  a  principle,  the  imaginary  some- 
times doing  '  ;  quite  as  effectually  as  the  actual. 

The  reader  may  next  wish  to  know  why  the  wonderful 
events  related  in  these  volumes  have  so  long  been  hid- 
den  from  the  world.  In  answer  to  this  we  would  ask  if 
any  one  can  tell  how  many  thousands  of  years  the  waters 
have  tumbled  down  the  cliffs  at  Niagara,  or  why  it  was 
that  civilized  men  heard  of  the  existence  of  this  wonder- 


ful  cataract  so  lately  as  only  three  centuries  since.  The 
fact  is,  there  must  be  a  beginning  to  every  thing  ;  and 
now  there  is  a  beginning  to  the  world's  knowing  the  his- 
tory of  Vulcan's  Peak,  and  the  Crater.  Lest  the  reader, 
however,  should  feel  disposed  to  reproach  the  past  age 
with  having  been  negligent  in  its  collection  of  historical 
and  geological  incidents,  we  would  again  remind  him  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  events  that  so  naturally  occupied 
its  attention.  It  is  scarcely  possible,  for  instance,  for  one 
who  did  not  live  forty  years  ago  to  have  any  notion  how 
completely  the  world  was  engaged  in  wondering  at  Na- 
poleon and  his  marvellous  career,  which  last  contained 
even  more  extraordinary  features  than  any  thing  related 
here ;  though  certainly  of  a  very  different  character. 
All  wondering,  for  near  a  quarter  of  a  century,  was 
monopolized  by  the  French  Revolution  and  its  con- 
sequences. 

There  are  a  few  explanations,  however,  which  are  of 
a  very  humble  nature  compared  with  the  principal 
events  of  our  history,  but  which  may  as  well  be  given 
here.  The  Woolston  family  still  exists  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  that,  by  the  way,  is  something  toward  corroborating 
the  truth  of  our  narrative.  Its  most  distinguished  mem- 
ber is  recently  dead,  and  his  journal  has  been  the  author- 
ity for  most  of  the  truths  here  related.  He  died  at  a 
good  old  age,  having  seen  his  three-score  years  and  ten, 
leaving  behind  him,  in  addition  to  a  very  ample  estate, 
not  only  a  good  character — which  means  neither  more 


nor  less  than  what  "  tlie  "neighbors,"  amid  their  igno- 
rance, envy,  love  of  detraction,  jealousy,  and  other  similar 
qualities,  might  think  proper  to  say  of  him— but  the  odor 
of  a  well-spent  life,  in  which  he  struggled  hard  to  live 
more  in  favor  with  God,  than  in  favor  with  man.  It 
was  remarked  in  him,  for  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life, 
or  after  his  return  to  Bucks,  that  he  regarded  all  popular 
demonstrations  with  distaste,  and,  as  some  of  his  enemies 
pretended,  with  contempt.  Nevertheless,  he  strictly  ac- 
quitted himself  of  all  his  public  duties,  and  never  neglect- 
ed to  vote.  It  is  believed  that  his  hopes  for  the  future, 
meaning  in  a  social  and  earthly  sense,  were  not  very 
vivid,  and  he  was  often  heard  to  repeat  that  warning 
text  of  Scripture  which  tells  us,  "  Let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

The  faithful,  and  once  lovely  partner  of  this  principal 
personage  of  our  history  is  also  dead.  It  would  seem 
that  it  was  not  intended  they  should  be  long  asunder.  But 
their  time  was  come,  and  they  might  almost  be  said  to 
have  departed  in  company.  The  same  is  true  of  Friends 
Robert  and  Martha,  who  have  also  filled  their  time,  and 
gone  hence,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  to  a  better  world.  Some 
few  of  the  younger  persons  of  our  drama  still  exist,  but 
it  has  been  remarked  of  them,  that  they  avoid  convers- 
ing of  the  events  <  >f  their  younger  days.  Youth  is  the  sea- 
son of  hope,  and  hope  disappointed  has  little  to  induce  us 
to  dwell  on  its  deceptive  p'ietures. 

If  those  who  now  live  in  this  republic,  can  see  any 


PREFACE. 


grounds  for  a  timely  warning  in  the  events  here  re- 
corded, it  may  happen  that  the  mercy  of  a  divine  Creator 
may  still  preserve  that  which  he  has  hitherto  cherished 
and  protected. 

It  remains  only  to  say  that  we  have  endeavored  to 
imitate  the  simplicity  of  Captain  Woolston's  journal, 
in  writing  this  book,  and  should  any  homeliness  of  style 
be  discovered,  we  trust  it  will  be  imputed  to  that  cir- 
cumstance. 


"V'W; 


THE    CRATER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

"'Twas  a  commodity  lay  fretting  by  you; 
'Twill  bring  you  gain,  or  perish  on  the  seas." 

Taming  or  the  Shrew. 

There  is  nothing  in  which  American  liberty,  not  always  as 
much  restrained  as  it  might  be,  has  manifested  a  more  decided 
tendency  to  run  riot,  than  in  the  use  of  names.  As  for  Chris- 
tian names,  the  heathen  mythology,  the  Bible,  ancient  history, 
and  all  the  classics,  have  long  since  been  exhausted,  and  the 
organ  of  invention  nas  been  at  work,  with  an  exuberance  of 
imagination  that  is  really  wonderful  for  such  a  matter-of-fact 
people.  Whence  all  the  strange  sounds  have  been  derived 
which  have  thus  been  pressed  into  the  service  of  this  human 
nomenclature,  it  would  puzzle  the  most  ingenious  philologist  to 
say.  The  days  of  the  Kates,  and  Dollys,  and  Pattys,  and 
Bettys,  have  passed  away,  and  in  their  stead  we  hear  of  Low- 
inys,  and  Orchistrys,  Philenys,  Alminys,  Cytherys,  Sarahlettvs, 
Amindys,  Marindys,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  All  these  last  appellations 
terminate  properly  with  an  a,  but  this  unfortunate  vowel,  when 
a  final  letter,  being  popularly  pronounced  like  y,  we  have  adapt- 
ed our  spelling  to  the  sound,  which  produces  a  complete  bathos 
to  all  these  flights  in  taste. 

The  hero  of  this  narrative  was  born  fully  sixty  years  since, 
and  happily  before  the  rage  for  modern  appellations,  thc-ifb  re 


12  the    cbater: 

just  escaped  being  named  after  another  system  which  we  cannot 
say  we  altogether  admire :  that  of  using  a  family,  for  a  Chris- 
tian name.  This  business  of  names  is  a  sort  of  science  in  itself, 
and  we  do  believe  that  it  is  less  understood  and  less  attended  to 
in  this  country  than  in  almost  all  others.  When  a  Spaniard 
writes  his  name  as  Juan  de  Castro  y*  Muiios,  we  know  that  his 
father  belonged  to  the  family  of  Castro,  and  his  mother  to  that 
of  Munos.  The  French,  and  Italian,  and  Russian  woman,  etc., 
writes  on  her  card,  Madame  this  or  that,  bom  so  and  so  ;  all 
which  tells  the  whole  history  of  her  individuality.  Many  French 
women,  in  signing  their  names,  prefix  those  of  their  own  family 
to  those  of  their  husbands,  a  sensible  and  simple  usage  that  we 
are  glad  to  see  is  beginning  to  obtain  among  ourselves.  The 
records  on  tomb-stones,  too,  might  be  made  much  more  clear 
and  useful  than  they  now  are,  by  stating  distinctly  who  the 
party  was,  on  both  sides  of  the  house,  or  by  father  and  mother; 
and  each  married  woman  ought  to  be  commemorated  in  some 
such  fashion  as  this:  "Here  lies  Jane  Smith,  wife  of  John 
Jones,"  etc.,  or,  "Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Smith  and  wife  of 
John  Jones."  We  believe  that,  in  some  countries,  a  woman's 
name  is  not  properly  considered  to  be  changed  by  marriage,  but 
she  becomes  a  Mrs.  only  in  connection  with  the  name  of  her 
husband.  Thus,  Jane  Smith  becomes  Mrs.  John  Jones,  but  not 
Mrs.  Jane  Jones.  It  is  on  this  idea,  we  suppose,  that  our  ances- 
tors, the  English — every  Englishman,  as  a  matter  of  course,  be-  ' 
ing  every  American's  ancestor — thus  it  is,  we  suppose,  therefore, 
that  our  ancestors,  who  pay  so  much  more  attention  to  such 
matters  than  we  do  ourselves,  in  their  table  of  courtesy,  call  the 
wife  of  Lord  John  Russell,  Lady  John,  and  not  Lady — whatevei 
her  Christian  name  may  happen  to  be.  We  suppose,  moreover, 
it  is  on  this  principle  that  Mrs.  General  This,  Mrs.  Doctor  That, 
and  Mrs.  Senator  T'other,  are  as  inaccurate  as  they  are  noto- 
riously vulgar. 

Mark  Woolston  came  from  a  part  of  this  great  republic  where 

*  Some  few  of  our  readers  may  require  to  be  told  that,  in  Spanish,  y,  pronounced  aa 
e,  is  the  simple  conjunction  "  and  ;"  thus  this  name  is  de  Castro  and  Mufios.^ 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  '  13 

the  names  are  still  as  simple,  unpretending,  and  as  good  Saxon 
English,  as  in  the  county  of  Kent  itself.  He  was  born  in  the 
little  town  of  Bristol,  Bucks  count)-,  Pennsylvania.  This  is  a 
portion  of  the  country  that,  Heaven  be  praised  !  still  retains 
some  of  the  good  old-fashioned  directness  and  simplicity.  Bucks 
is  full  of  Jacks,  and  Bens,  and  Dicks,  and  we  question  if  there 
is  such  a  creature,  of  native  growth,  in  all  that  region,  as  an 
Ithusy,  or  a  Seneky,  or  a  Dianthy,  or  an  Ahtonizetty,  or  a 
Deidamy.*  The  Woolstohs,  in  particular,  were  a  plain  family, 
and  very  unpretending  in  their  external  appearance,  but  of  solid 
and  highly  respectable  habits  around  the  domestic  hearth. 
Knowing  perfectly  how  to  spell,  they  never  dreamed  any  one 
would  suspect  them  of  ignorance.  They  called  themselves  as 
their  forefathers  were  called,  that  is  to  say,  Wooster,  or  just  as 
Worcester  is  pronounced  ;  though  a  Yaukee  schoolmaster  tried 
for  a  whole  summer  to  persuade  our  hero,  when  a  child,  that 
he  ought  to  be  styled  Wool-ston.  This  had  no  effect  on  Mark, 
who  went  on  talking  of  his  uncles  and  aunts,  "  Josy  Wooster," 
and  "Tommy  Wooster,"  and  "Peggy  Wooster,"  precisely  as 
if  a  New  England  academy  did  not  exist  on  earth ;  or  as  if 
Webster  had  not  actually  put  Johnson  under  his  feet  1 

The  father  of  Mark  Woolston  (or  Wooster)  was  a  physician, 
and,  for  the  country  and  age,  was  a  well-educated  and  skilful 
man.  Mark  was  born  in  1777,  just  seventy  years  since,  and 
only  ten  days  before  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  A  good  deal 
of  attention  was  paid  to  his  instruction,  and  fortunately  for 
himself,  his  servitude  under  the  eastern  pedagogue  was  of  very 
short  duration,  and  Mark  continued  to  speak  the  English  lan- 
guage as  his  fathers  had  spoken  it  before  him.  The  difference 
on  the  score  of  language,  between  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey  and  Maryland,  always  keeping  in  the  counties  that  were 
not  settled  by  Germans  or  Irish,  and  the  New  England  8t 


*  Absurd  and  forced  as  these  strange  appellations  may  appear,  they  are  all  genuine. 
The  writer  has  collected  a  long  list  of  such  names  from  real  life,  which  he  may  one  day 
publish — Orchistra.  Philena,  and  Almina  are  among  them.  To  all  the  names  ending  in 
a,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  sound  of  a  final  y  is  given. 


14  the    crater: 

and  through  them,  New  York,  is  really  so  obvious  as  to  de- 
serve a  passing  word.  In  the  states  first  named,  taverns,  for 
instance,  are  still  called  the  Dun  Cow,  the  Indian  Queen,  or  the 
Anchor ;  whereas  such  a  thing  would  be  hard  to  find,  at  this 
day,  among  the  six  millions  of  people  who  dwell  in  the  latter. 
We  question  if  there  be  such  a  thing  as  a  coffee-house  in  all 
Philadelphia,  though,  we  admit  it  with  grief,  the  respectable 
town  of  Brotherly  Love  has,  in  some  respects,  become  infected 
with  the  spirit  of  innovation.  Thus  it  is  that  good  old  "  State 
House  Yard''''  has  been  changed  into  "  Independence  Square." 
This  certainly  is  not  as  bad  as  the  tour  deforce  of  the  alder 
men  of  Manhattan  when  they  altered  "  Bear  Market"  into 
"  Washington  Market !"  for  it  is  not  a  prostitution  of  the  name 
of  a  great  man,  in  the  first  place,  and  there  is  a  direct  historical 
allusion  in  the  new  name  that  everybody  can  understand. 
Still,  it  is  to  be  regretted ;  and  we  hope  this  will  be  the  last 
thing  of  the  sort  that  will  ever  occur,  though  we  confess  our 
confidence  in  Philadelphian  stability  and  consistency  is  a  good 
deal  lessened,  since  we  have  learned,  by  means  of  a  late  law- 
suit, that  there  are  fifty  or  sixty  aldermen  in  the  place  ;  a  num- 
ber of  those  worthies  that  is  quite  sufficient  to  upset  the  pro- 
prieties, in  Athens  itself ! 

Doctor  Woolston  had  a  competitor  in  another  physician,  who 
lived  within  a  mile  of  him,  and  whose  name  was  Yardley.  Doc- 
tor Yardley  was  a  very  respectable  person,  had  about  the  same 
degree  of  talents  and  knowledge  as  his  neighbor  and  rival,  but 
was  much  the  richest  man  of  the  two.  Doctor  Yardley,  however, 
had  but  one  child,  a  daughter,  whereas  Doctor  Woolston,  with 
much  less  of  means,  had  sons  and  daughters.  Mark  was  the 
eldest  of  the  family,  and  it  was  probably  owing  to  this  circum- 
stance that  he  was  so  well  educated,  since  the  expense  was  not 
yet  to  be  shared  with  that  of  keeping  his  brothers  and  sisters  at 
schools  of  the  same  character. 

In  1777  an  American  college  was  little  better  than  a  high 
school.  It  could  not  be  called,  in  strictness,  a  grammar  school, 
inasmuch  as  all  the  sciences  were  glanced  at,  if  not  studied  ; 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  15 

but,  as  respects  the  classics,  more  than  a  grammar  school  it  was 
not,  nor  that  of  a  very  high  order.  It  was  a  consequence  of 
the  light  nature  of  the  studies,  that  mere  boys  graduated  in 
those  institutions.  Such  was  the  ense  with  Mark  Woolston, 
who  would  have  taken  his  degree  as  a  Bachelor  of  Arts,  at 
Nassau  Hall,  Princeton,  had  not  an  event  occurred,  in  his  six- 
teenth year,  which  produced  an  entire  change  in  his  plan  of  life, 
and  nipped  his  academical  honors  in  the  bud. 

Although  it  is  unusual  for  square-rigged  vessels  of  any  size  to 
ascend  the  Delaware  higher  than  Philadelphia,  the  river  is,  in 
truth,  navigable  for  such  craft  almost  to  Trenton  bridge.  In 
the  year  1*793,  when  Mark  Woolston  was  just  sixteen,  a  full- 
rigged  ship  actually  came  up,  and  lay  at  the  end  of  the  wharf 
in  Burlington— the  little  town  nearly  opposite  to  Bristol— where 
she  attracted  a  great  deal  of  the  attention  of  all  the  youths  of 
the  vicinity.  Mark  was  at  home,  in  a  vacation,  and  he  passed 
half  his  time  in  and  about  that  ship,  crossing  the  river  in  a  skiff, 
of  which  he  was  the  owner,  in  order  to  do  so.  From  that  hour 
young  Mark  affected  the  sea,  and  aW  the  tears  of  his  mother  and 
eldest  sister — the  latter  a  pretty  girl  only  two  years  his  junior — 
and  the  more  sober  advice  of  his  father,  could  not  induce  him  to 
change  his  mind.  A  six  weeks'  vacation  was  passed  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  this  subject,  when  the  doctor  yielded  to  his  son's  im- 
portunities, probably  foreseeing  he  should  have  his  hands 
full  to  educate  his  other  children,  'and  not  unwilling  to  put  this 
child,  as  early  as  possible,  in  the  way  of  supporting  himself. 

The  commerce  of  America,  in  1793,  was  already  flourishing, 
and  Philadelphia  was  then  much  the  most  important  place  in  the 
country.  Its  East  India  trade,  in  particular,  was  very  large  and 
growing,  and  Doctor  Woolston  knew  that  fortunes  were  rapidly 
made  by  many  engaged  in  it.  After  turning  the  thing  well 
over  in  his  mind,  he  determined  to  consult  Mark's  inclinations, 
and  to  make  a  sailor  of  him.  He  had  a  cousin  married  to  the 
sister  of  an  East  India,  or  rather  of  a  Canton  ship-master,  and 
to  this  person  the  father  applied  for  advice  and  assistance.  I  Jap- 
tain  Crutchely  very  willingly  consented  to  receive  Mark  in  his 


16  .'  the    crater: 

own  vessel,  the  Kancocus,  and  promised  "  to  make  a  man  and 
an  officer  of  him." 

The  very  day  Mark  first  saw  the  ocean  he  was  sixteen  years 
old.  He  had  got  his  height,  five  feet  eleven,  and  was  strong 
for  his  years,  and  active.  In  fact,  it  would  not  have  been  easy 
to  find  a  lad  every  way  so  well  adapted  to  his  new  calling,  as 
young  Mark  Woolston.  The  three  years  of  his  college  life,  if 
they  had  not  made  him  a  Newton,  or  a  Bacon,  had  done  him 
no  harm,  filling  his  mind  with  the  germs  of  ideas  that  were  des- 
tined afterward  to  become  extremely  useful  to  him.  The 
young  man  was  already,  indeed,  a  sort  of  factotum,  being  clever 
and  handy  at  so  many  things  and  in  so  many  different  ways,  as 
early  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  officers.  Long  before  the 
vessel  reached  the  Capes,  he  was  at  home  in  her,  from  her  truck 
to  her  keelson,  and  Captain  Crutchely  remarked  to  his  chief 
mate,  the  day  they  got  to  sea,  that  "  young  Mark  Woolston 
was  likely  to  turn  up  a  trump." 

As  for  Mark  himself,  he  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  land,  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  altogether  without  regrets.  He  had  a  good 
deal  of  feeling  in  connection  with  his  parents,  and  his  brothers 
and  sisters ;  but,  as  it  is  our  aim  to  conceal  nothing  which 
ought  to  be  revealed,  wre  must  add  there  was  still  another  who 
filled  his  thoughts  more  than  all  the  rest  united.  This  person 
was  Bridget  Yardley,  the  only  child  of  his  father's  most  formida- 
ble professional  competitor. 

The  two  physicians  were  obliged  to  keep  up  a  sickly  in- 
tercourse— not  intending  a  pun.  They  were  too  often  called 
in  to  consult  together,  to  maintain  an  open  war.  While  the 
heads  of  their  respective  families  occasionally  met,  therefore,  at 
the  bed-side  of  their  patients,  the  families  themselves  had  no 
direct  communications.  It  is  true,  that  Mrs.  Woolston  and  Mrs. 
Yardley  were  occasionally  to  be  seen  seated  at  the  same  tea- 
table,  taking  their  hyson  in  company,  for  the  recent  trade  with 
China  had  expelled  the  bohea  from  most  of  the  better  parlors  of 
the  country  ;  nevertheless,  these  good  ladies  could  not  get  to 
be  cordial  with  each  other.     They  themselves  had  a  differenco 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  IV 

on  religious  points,  that   was  almost  as  bitter  as  the  differences 
of  opinions  between  their  husbands  on  the  subject  of  alteratives. 
Id  that  distant  day,  homoeopathy,  and  allopathy,  and  hydrop- 
athy, and   all    the  opathies,    were  nearly  unknown  ;    but  men 
could   wrangle    and  abuse  each  other  on  medical  points,  just 
as  well,  and  as  bitterly,  then,  as  they  do  now.     Religion,  too, 
quite  a  soften  failed  to  bear  its  proper  fruits,  in  1793,  as  it  proves 
barren  in  these,  our  own  times.     On  this  subject  of  religion,  we 
have  one  word  to  say,  and  that  is,  simply,  that  it  never  was  a 
meet  matter  for  self-gratulation  and  boasting.     Here  we  have 
the  Americp- Anglican  church,  just  as  it  has  finished  a  blast  of 
trumpets,  through  the  medium  of  numberless  periodicals  and  a 
thousand  letters  from  its  confiding,  if  not  confident  clergy,  in 
honor  of  its  quiet,  and  harmony,  and  superior  polity,  suspended 
on  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice  of  separation,  if  not  of  schism, 
and  all  because  it  has  pleased  certain  ultra-sublimated  divines  in 
the  other  hemisphere,  to  write  a  parcel  of  tracts  that  nobody 
understands,  themselves  included.     How  many  even  of  the  min- 
isters of  the  altar  fall,  at  the  very  moment  they  are  beginning  to 
fancy  themselves  saints,  anr1  are  ready  to  thank  G-od  they  are 
"  not  like  the  publicans  !' 

,  Both  Mrs.  Woolston  and  Mrs.  Yardley  were  what  is  called 
"  pious  ;"  that  is,  each  said  her  prayers,  each  went  to  her  par- 
ticular church,  and  very  particular  churches  they  were  ;  each 
fancied  she  had  a  sufficiency  of  saving  faith,  but  neither  was 
charitable  enough  to  think,  in  a  very  friendly  temper,  of  the 
other.  This  difference  of  religions  opinion,  added  to  the  rival 
reputations  of  their  husbands,  made  these  ladies  any  thing  but 
good  neighbors,  and,  as  has  been  intimated,  years  had  passed 
since  either  had  entered  the  door  of  the  other. 

Very  different  was  the  feeling  of  the  children.  Anne  Wool- 
ston, the  eldest  sister  of  .Mark,  and  Bridget  Yardley,  were 
nearly  of  an  age,  and  they  were  not  only  school-mates,  but  fast 
friends.  To  give  their  mothers  their  due,  they  did  not  lessen 
this  intimacy  by  hints,  or  intimations  of  any  sort,  but  let  the 
girls  obey  their  own  tastes,  as  if  satisfied  it  was  quite  sufficient 


18  the    crater: 

for  "  professors  of  religion"  to  hate  in  their  own  persons,  with- 
out entailing  the  feeling  on  posterity.  Anne  and  Bridget  con- 
sequently became  warm  friends  ;  the  two  sweet,  pretty  young 
things  both  believing,  In  the  simplicity  of  their  hearts,  that  the 
very  circumstance  which  in  truth  caused  the  alienation,  not  to 
say  the  hostility  of  the  elder  members  of  their  respective  fami- 
lies, viz.,  professional  identity,  was  an  additional  reason  why 
they  should  love  each  other  so  much  the  more.  The  girls 
were  about  two  and  three  years  the  juniors  of  Mark,  but  well 
grown  for  their  time  of  life,  and  frank  and  affectionate  as  inno- 
cence and  warm  hearts  could  make  them.  Each  was  more 
than  pretty,  though  it  was  in  styles  so  very  different,  as  scarce- 
ly to  produce  any  of  that  other  sort  of  rivalry,  which  is  so  apt 
to  occur  even  in  the  gentler  sex.  Anne  had  bloom,  and  fea 
tures,  and  fine  teeth,  and,  a  charm  that  is  so  very  common  in 
America,  a  good  mouth  ;  but  Bridget  had  all  these  added  to 
expression.  Nothing  could  be  more  soft,  gentle,  and  feminine, 
than  Bridget  Yardley's  countenance,  in  its  ordinary  state  of 
rest ;  or  more  spirited,  laughing,  buoyant,  or  pitying  than  it  be- 
came, as  the  different  passions  or  feelings  were  excited  in  her 
young  bosom.  As  Mark  was  often  sent  to  see  his  sister  home, 
in  her. frequent  visits  to  the  madam's  house,  where  the  two  girls, 
held  most  of  their  intercourse,  he  was  naturally  enough  admit- 
ted into  their  association.  The  connection  commenced  by 
Mark's  agreeing  to  be  Bridget's  brother,  as  well  as  Anne's. 
This  was  generous,  at  least ;  for  Bridget  was  an  only  child,  and 
it  was  no  more  than  right  to  repair  the  wrongs  of  fortune  in 
this  particular.  The  charming  young  thing  declared  that  she 
would  "rather  have  Mark  Woolston  for  her  brother  than  any 
other  boy  in  Bristol ;  and  that  it  was  delightful  to  have  the 
same  person  for  a  brother  as  Anne  !"  Notwithstanding  this 
flight  in  the  romantic,  Bridget  Yardley  was  as  natural  as  it  was 
possible  for  a  female  in  a  reasonably  civilized  condition  of 
society  to  be.  There  was  a  vast  deal  of  excellent,  feminine 
self-devotion  in  her  temperament,  but  not  a  particle  of  the  ex- 
aggerated, in  either  sentiment  or  feeling.     True  as  steel  in  all 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  19 

her  impulses  and  opinions,  in  adopting  Mark  for  a  brother  she 
merely  yielded  to  a  strong  natural  sympathy,  without  under- 
standing its  tendency  or  its  origin.  She  would  talk  by  the  hour, 
with  Anne,  touching  their  brother,  and  what  they  must  make 
him  do,  and  where  he  must  go  with  them,  and  in  wrhat  they 
could  oblige  him  most.  The  real  sister  was  less  active  than  her 
friend,  in  mind  and  body,  and  she  listened  to  all  these  schemes 
and  notions  with  a  quiet  submission  that  was  not  entirely  free 
from  wonder. 

The  result  of  all  this  intercourse  was  to  awaken  a  feeling  be- 
tween Mark  and  Bridget,  that  was  far  more  profound  than 
might  have  been  thought  in  breasts  so  young,  and  which  color- 
ed their  future  lives.  Mark  first  became  conscious  of  the 
strength  of  this  feeling  when  he  lost  sight  of  the  Capes,  and 
fancied  the  dear  little  Bucks  county  girl  he  had  left  behind  him, 
talking  with  his  sister  of  his  own  absence  and  risks.  But 
Mark  had  too  much  of  the  true  spirit  of  a  sailor  in  him,  to 
pine,  or  neglect  his  duty  ;  and,  long  ere  the  ship  had  doubled 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  had  become  an  active  and  handy 
lad  aloft.  When  the  ship  reached  the  China  seas,  he  actually 
took  his  trick  at  the  helm. 

As  was  usual  in  that  day,  the  voyage  of  the  Rancocus  lasted 
about  a  twelvemonth.  If  John  Chinamen  were  only  one  half  as 
active  as  Jonathan  Restless,  it  might  be  disposed  of  in  abont 
one-fourth  less  time ;  but  teas  are  not  transported  along  the 
canals  of  the  Celestial  Empire  with  any  thing  like  the  rapidity 
with  which  wheat  was  sent  to  market  over  the  rough  roads  of 
the  Great  Republic,  in  the  age  of  which  we  are  writing. 

When  Mark  Woolston  reappeared  in  Bristol,  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Rancocus  below  had  been  known  there  about  twenty-four 
hours,  he  was  the  envy  of  all  the  lads  in  the  place,  and  the  ad- 
miration of  most  of  the  girls.  There  he  was,  a  tall,  straight, 
active,  well-made,  well-grown,  and  decidedly  handsome  lad  of 
seventeen,  who  had  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  seen 
foreign  parts,  and  had  a  real  India  handkerchief  hanging  out  of 
each  pocket  of  a  blue  round-about  of  superfine  cloth,  besides 


20  the    crater: 

one  around  his  half-open,  well-formed  throat,  that  was  carelessly 
tied  in  a  true  sailor  knot !  The  questions  he  had  to  answer,  and 
did  answer,  about  whales,  Chinese  feet,  and  "mountain  waves!" 
Although  Bristol  lies  on  a  navigable  river,  up  and  down  which 
frigates  had  actually  been  seen  to  pass  in  the  Revolution,  it  was 
but  little  that  its  people  knew  of  the  ocean.  Most  of  the  worthy 
inhabitants  of  the  place  actually  fancied  that  the  waves  of  the 
sea  were  as  high  as  mountains,  though  their  notions  of  the  last' 
Avere  not  very  precise,  there  being  no  elevations  in  that  part  of 
the  country  fit  even  for  a  wind-mill. 

But  Mark  cared  little  for  these  interrogatories.  He  was 
happy  :  happy  enough,  at  being  the  object  of  so  much  atten-' 
tion ;  happier  still  in  the  bosom  of  a  family  of  which  he  had 
always  been  the  favorite  and  was  now  the  pride  ;  and  happiest 
of  all  when  he  half  ravished  a  kiss  from  the  blushing  cheek  of 
Bridget  Yardley.  Twelve  months  had  done  a  great  deal  for 
each  of  the  young  couple.  If  they  had  not  quite  made  a  man 
of  Mark,  they  had  made  him  manly,  and  his  soi-disant  sister 
wondered  that  any  one  could  be  so  much  improved  by  a  sea- 
faring life.  As  for  Bridget,  herself,  she  was  just  bursting  into 
young  womanhood,  resembling  the  bud  as  its  leaves  of  green  are 
opening  to  permit  those  of  the  deepest  rose-colored  tint  to  be  seen 
before  they  expand  into  the  full-blown  flower.  Mark  was  more 
than  delighted,  he  was  fascinated ;  and,  young  as  they  were, 
the  month  he  passed  at  home  sufficed  to  enable  him  to  tell  his 
passion,  and  to  obtain  a  half-ready,  half-timid  acceptance  of  the 
offer  of  his  hand.  All  this  time,  the  parents  of  these  very 
youthful  lovers  were  as  profoundly  ignorant  of  what  was  going 
on,  as  their  children  were  unobservant  of  the  height  to  which 
professional  competition  had  carried  hostilities  between  their 
respective  parents.  Doctors  Woolston  and  Yardley  no  longer  met 
even  in  consultations  ;  or,  if  they  did  meet  in  the  house  of  some 
patient  whose  patronage  was  of  too  much  value  to  be  slighted, 
it  was  only  to  dispute,  and  sometimes  absolutely  to  quarrel.    . 

At  the  end  of  one  short  month,  however,   Mark  was  once 
more  summoned  to  his  post  on  board  the  Rancocus,  temporarily 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  21 

putting  an  end  to  his  delightful  interviews  with  Bridget.  The 
lovers  had  made  Annie  their  confidant,  and  she,  well-meaning 
girl,  seeing  no  sufficient  reason  why  the«on  of  one  respectable 
physician  should  not  be  a  suitable  match  for  the  daughter  of 
another  respectable  physician,  encouraged  them  in  their  vows  of 
constancy  and  pledges  to  become  man  and  wife  at  a  future,  but 
an  early  day.  To  some  persons,  all  this  may  seem  exceedingly 
improper,  as  well  as  extremely  precocious;  but  the  truth  compels 
us  to  say,  that  its  impropriety  was  by  no  means  as  obvious  as 
its  precocity.  The  latter  it  certainly  was,  though  Mark  had 
shot  up  early,  and  was  a  man  at  a  time  of  life  when  lads,  in  less 
genial  climates,  scarcely  get  tails  to  their  coats ;  but  its  impro- 
priety must  evidently  be  measured  by  the  habits  of  the  state  of 
society  in  which  the  parties  were  brought  up,  and  by  the  duties 
that  had  been  inculcated.  In  America,  then,  as  now,  but  little 
heed  was  taken  by  parents,  more  especially  in  what  may  be 
called  the  middle  classes,  concerning  the  connections  thus 
formed  by  their  children.  So  long  as  the  parties  were  moral, 
bore  good  characters,  had  nothing  particular  against  them,  and 
were  of  something  near  the  same  social  station,  little  else  was 
asked  for;  or,  if  more  were  actually  required,  it  was  usually 
when  it  was  too  late,  and  after  the  young  people  had  got  them- 
selves too  deeply  in  love  to  allow  ordinary  prudential  reasons  to 
have  their  due  force. 

Mark  went  to  sea  this  time,  dragging  after  him  a  "  lengthen- 
ing chain,"  but,  nevertheless,  filled  with  hope.  His  years  for- 
bade much  despondency,  and,  while  he  remained  as  con- 
stant as  if  he  had  been  a  next-door  neighbor,  he  was  buoyant, 
and  the  life  of  the  whole  crew,  after  the  first  week  out.  This 
voyage  was  not  direct  to  Canton,  like  the  first ;  but  the  ship 
took  a  cargo  of  sugar  to  Amsterdam,  and  thence  went  to  Lon- 
don, where  she  got  a  freight  for  Cadiz.  The  war  of  the  French 
Revolution  was  now  blazing  in  all  the  heat  of  its  first  fires,  and 
American  bottoms  were  obtaining  a  large  portion  of  the  earn- 
ing trade  of  the  world.  Captain  Crutchely  had  orders  to  keep 
the  ship  iu  Europe,  making  the  most  of  her,  until  a  certain  sum 


22  THE     crater:  ' 

in  Spanish  dollars  could  be  collected,  when  he  was  to  fill  up 
with  provisions  and  water,  and  again  make  the  best  of  his  way 
to  Canton.  In  obeying  these  instructions,  he  went  from  port  to 
port ;  and,  as  a  sort  of  consequence  of  having  Quaker  owners, 
turning  his  peaceful  character  to  great  profit,  thus  giving  Mark 
many  opportunities  of  seeing  as  much  of  what  is  called  the 
world,  as  can  be  found  in  sea-ports.  Great,  indeed,  is  the  differ- 
ence between  places  that  are  merely  the  marts  of  commerce, 
and  those  that  are  really  political  capitals  of  large  countries ! 
No  one  can  be  aware  of,  or  can  fully  appreciate  the  many  points 
of  difference  that,  in  reality,  exist  between  such  places,  who  has 
not  seen  each,  and  that  sufficiently  near  to  be  familiar  with 
both.  Some  places,  of  which  London  is  the  most  remarkable 
example,  enjoy  both  characters;  and,  when  this  occurs,  the 
town  gets  to  possess  a  tone  that  is  even  less  provincial  and  nar- 
row, if  possible,  than  that  which  is  to  be  found  in  a  place  that 
merely  rejoices  in  a  court.  This  it  is  which  renders  Naples,  in- 
significant as  its  commerce  comparatively  is,  superior  to  Vienna, 
and  Genoa  to  Florence.  While  it  would  be  folly  to  pretend 
that  Mark,  in  his  situation,  obtained  the  most  accurate  notions 
imaginable  of  all  he  saw  and  heard,  in  his  visits  to  Amsterdam, 
London,  Cadiz,  Bordeaux,  Marseilles,  Leghorn,  Gibraltar,  and 
two  or  three  other  ports  that  might  be  mentioned  and  to  which 
he  went,  he  did  glean  a  good  deal,  some  of  which  was  useful 
to  him  in  after-life.  He  lost  no  small  portion  of  the  provincial 
rust  of  home,  moreover,  and  began  to  understand  the  vast  differ- 
ence between  "  seeing  the  world"  and  "  going  to  meeting  and 
going  to  mill."*     In  addition  to  these  advantages,  Mark  was 

*  This  last  phrase  has  often  caused  the  writer  to  smile,  when  he  has  heard  a  country- 
man say,  with  a  satisfied  air,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  this  good  republic,  that  "  such 
or  such  a  thing  here  is  good  enough  for  me;"  meaning  that  he  questions  if  there  be 
any  thing  of  the  sort  that  is  better  anywhere  else.  It  was  uttered  many  years  since 
by  a  shrewd  Quaker,  in  Westchester,  who  was  contending  with  a  neighbor  on  a  sub- 
ject that  the  other  endeavored  to  defend  by  alluding  to  the  extent  of  his  own  observa- 
tion. "  Oh !  yes,  Josy,"  answered  the  Friend,  "  thee's  been  to  meeting,  and  thee*s  been 
to  mill,  and  thee  knows  all  about  it!"  America  is  full  of  travellers  who  have  been  to 
meeting  and  who  have  been  to  mill.  This  it  is  which  makes  it  unnecessarily  pro- 
vincial. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  23 

transferred  from  the  forecastle  to  the  cabin  before  the  ship  sailed 
for  Canton.  The  practice  of  near  two  years  had  made  him  a 
very  tolerable  sailor,  and  his  previous  education  made  the  study 
of  navigation  easy  to  him.  In  that  day  there  was  a  scarcity  of 
officers  in  America,  and  a  young  man  of  Mark's  advantages, 
physical  and  moral,  was  certain  to  get  on  rapidly,  provided  he 
only  behaved  well.  It  is  not  at  all  surprising,  therefore,  that 
our  young  sailor  got  to  be  the  second  mate  of  the  Rancocus 
before  he  had  quite  completed  his  eighteenth  year. 

The  voyage  from  London  to  Canton,  and  thence  home  to 
Philadelphia,  consumed  about  ten  months.  The  Rancocus  was 
a  fast  vessel,  but  she  could  not  impart  her  speed  to  the  China- 
men. It  followed  that  Mark  wanted  but  a  few  weeks  of  being 
nineteen  years  old  the  day  his  ship  passed  Cape  May,  and,  what 
was  more,  he  had  the  promise  of  Captain  Crutchely,  of  sailing 
with  him,  as  his  first  officer,  in  the  next  voyage.  With  that 
promise  in  his  mind,  Mark  hastened  up  the  river  to  Bristol,  as 
soon  as  he  was  clear  of  the  vessel. 

Bridget  Yardley  had  now  fairly  budded,  to  pursue  the  figure 
with  which  we  commenced  the  description  of  this  blooming 
flower,  and,  if  not  actually  expanded  into  perfect  womanhood, 
was  so  near  it  as  to  show,  beyond  all  question,  that  the  prom- 
ises of  her  childhood  were  to  be  very  amply  redeemed.  Mark 
found  her  in  black,  however ;  or,  in  mourning  for  her  mother. 
An  only  child,  this  serious  loss  had  thrown  her  more  than  ever 
in  the  way  of  Anne,  the  parents  on  both  sides  winking  at  an 
association  that  co.uld  do  no  harm,  and  which  might  prove  so 
useful.  It  was  very  different,  however,  with  the  young  sailor. 
He  had  not  been  a  fortnight  at  home,  and  getting  to  be  inti- 
mate with  the  roof-tree  of  Doctor  Yardley,  befo  e  that  person 
saw  tit  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  him,  and  to  forbid  him  his  house. 
As  the  dispute  was  wholly  gratuitous  on  the  part  of  the  doctor, 
Mark  behaving  with  perfect  propriety  on  the  occasion,  it  may 
be  well  to  explain  its  real  cause.  The  fact  was,  that  Bridget 
was  an  heiress;  if  not  on  a  very  lar^e  scale,  still  an  heiress,  and, 
what  was  more,  unalterably  so  in  the  right  of  her  mother;  and 


24  the    crater: 

the  thought  that  a  son  of  his  competitor,  Doctor  Woolston, 
should  profit  by  this  fact,  was  utterly  insupportable  to  hiin. 
Accordingly,  he  quarrelled  with  Mark,  the  instant  he  was  ap- 
prised of  the  character  of  his  attentions,  and  forbade  hirn  the 
house.  To  do  Mark  justice,  he  knew  nothing  of  Bridget's 
worldly  possessions.  That  she  was  beautiful,  and  warm-hearted, 
and  frank,  and  sweet-tempered,  and  feminine,  and  affjectionate, 
he  both  saw  and  felt ;  but  beyond  this  he  neither  saw  any  thing, 
nor  cared  about  seeing  any  thing.  The  young  sailor  was  as  pro- 
foundly ignorant  that  Bridget  was  the  actual  owner  of  certain 
three  per  cents,  that  brought  twelve  hundred  a  year,  as  if  she 
did  not  own  a  "  copper,"  as  it  was  the  fashion  of  that  period  to 
say,  "cents"  being  then  very  little,  if  at  all,  used.  Nor  did  he 
know  any  thing  of  the  farm  she  had  inherited  from  her  mother, 
or  of  the  store  in  town,  that  brought  three  hundred  and  fifty 
more  in  rent.  It  is  true  that  some  allusions  were  made  to  these 
matters  by  Doctor  Yardley,  in  his  angry  comments  on  the 
Woolston  family  generally,  Anne  always  excepted,  and  in  whose 
favor  he  made  a  salvo,  even  in  the  height  of  his  denunciations. 
Still,  Mark  thought  so  much  of  that  which  was  really  estimable 
and  admirable  in  Bridget,  and  so  little  of  any  thing  mercenary, 
that  even  after  these  revelations  he  could  not  comprehend  the 
causes  of  Doctor  Yardley's  harsh  treatment  of  him.  During 
the  whole  scene,  which  was  purposely  enacted  in  the  presence 
of  his  wondering  and  trembling  daughter,  Mark  behaved  per- 
fectly well.  He  had  a  respect  for  the  doctor's  years,  as  well  as 
for  Bridget's  father,  and  would  not  retort.  After  waiting  as 
long  as  he  conceived  waiting  could  be  of  any  use,  he  seized  his 
hat,  and  left  the  room  with  an  air  of  resentment  that  Bridget 
construed  into  the  expression  of  an  intention  never  to  speak  to 
any  of  them  again.  But  Mark  Woolston  was  governed  by  ho 
such  design,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 


PEAK.  &n 


CHAPTER   II. 

"8he  's  not  fourteen."' 

"I'll  lay  fourteen  of  my  teeth 
And  yet,  to  my  teen  be  it  spoken,  I  have  but  four- 
She  is  not  fourteen." 

Romeo  ajtd  Juliet. 

Divine  wisdom  has  commanded  us  to  "  Honor  your  father 
and  your  mother."-  Observant  travellers  affirm  that  less  respect 
is  paid  to  parents  in  America,  than  is  usual  in  Christian  nations 
— we  say  Christian  nations ;  for  many  of  the  heathen,  the  Chi- 
nese for  instance,  worship  them,  though  probably  with  an  alle- 
gorical connection  that  we  do  not  understand.  That  the  pa- 
rental tie  is  more  loose  in  this  country  than  in  most  others  we 
believe,  and  there  is  a  reason  to  be  found  for  it  in  the  migratory 
habits  of  the  people,  and  in  the  general  looseness  in  all  the  tics 
that  connect  men  with  the  past.  The  laws  on  the  subject  of 
matrimony,  moreover,  are  so  very  lax,  intercourse  is  so  simple 
and  has  so  many  facilities,  and  the  young  of  the  two  sexes  are 
left  so  much  to  themselves,  that  it  is  no  wonder  children  form 
that  connection  so  often  without  reflection  and  contrary  to  the 
wishes  of  their  friends.  Still,  the  law  of  God  is  there,  and 
we  are  among  those  who  believe  that  a  neglect  of  its  man- 
dates is  very  ap"t  to  bring  its  punishment,  even  in  this  world ; 
and  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  much  of  that  which  Mark 
and  Bridget  subsequently  suffered,  was  in  consequence  of  act- 
ing directly  in  the  face  of  the  wishes  and  injunctions  of  their 
parents. 

The  scene  which  had  taken  place  under  the  roof  of  D 
Yardley   was   soon    known   under   that    of    Doctor    V. 
Although  the  last  individual  was  fully  aware  th  was 


ttc  the     crater: 

what  was  then  esteemed  rich,  at  Bristol,  lie  cared  not  for  her 
money.  The  girl  he  liked  well  enough,  and  in  secret  even  ad- 
mired her  as  much  as  he  could  find  it  in  his  heart  to  admire  any 
thing  of  Doctor  Yardley's  ;  but  the  indignity  was  one  he  was 
by  no  means  inclined  to  overlook,  and,  in  his  turn,  he  forbade 
all  intercourse  between  the  girls.  These  two  bitter  pills,  thus 
administered  by  the  village  doctors  to  their  respective  pa- 
tients, made  the  young  people  very  miserable.  Bridget  loved 
Anne  almost  as  much  as  she  loved  Mark,  and  she  began  to  pine 
and  alter  in  her  appearance,  in  a  way  to  alarm  her  father.  In 
order  to  divert  her  mind,  he  sent  her  to  town,  to  the  care  of  an 
aunt,  altogether  forgetting  that  Mark's  ship  lay  at  the  wharves 
of  Philadelphia,  and  that  he  could  not  have  sent  his  daughter 
to  any  place,  out  of  Bristol,  where  the  young  man  would  be  so 
likely  to  find  her.  This  danger  the  good  doctor  entirely  over- 
looked, or,  if  he  thought  of  it  at  all,  he  must  have  fancied  that 
his  sister  would  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  the  movements  of  the 
young  sailor,  and  forbid  him  her  house,  too. 

Every  thing  turned  out  as  the  doctor  ought  to  have  expect- 
ed. When  Mark  joined  the  ship,  of  which  he  was  now  the 
first  officer,  he  sought  Bridget  and  found  her.  The  aunt,  how- 
ever, administered  to  him  the  second  portion  of  the  same  dose 
that  her  brother  had  originally  dealt  o.ut,  and  gave  him  to  un- 
derstand that  his  presence  in  Front  street  was  not  desired. 
This  irritated  both  the  young  people,  Bridget  being  far  less 
disposed  to  submit  to  her  aunt  than  to  her  father,  and  they  met 
clandestinely  in  the  streets.  A  week  or  two  of  this  intercourse 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis,  and  Bridget  consented  to  a  private 
marriage.  The  idea  of  again  going  to  sea,  leaving  his  betroth- 
.  ed  entirely  in  the  hands  of  those  who  disliked  him  for  his 
father's  sake,  was  intolerable  to  Mark,  and  it  made  him  so  mis- 
erable, that  the  tenderness  of  the  deeply-enamored  girl  could 
not  withstand  his  appeals.  They  agreed  to  get  married,  but  to 
keep  their  union  a  secret  until  Mark  should  become  of  age, 
when  it  was  hoped  he  would  be  in  a  condition,  in  every  point 
of  view,  openly  to  claim  his  wife. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  27 

A  thing  of  this  sort,  once  decided  on,  is  easily  enough  put 
in  execution  in  America.  Among  Mark's  college  friends  was 
one  who  was  a  few  years  older  than  himself,  and  who  had  en- 
tered the  ministry.  This  young  man  was  then  acting  as  a  sort 
of  missionary  among  the  seamen  of  the  port,  and  he  had  fallen 
in  the  way  of  the  young  lover  the  very  first  day  of  his  return 
to  his  ship.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  work  on  the  good  nature 
of  this  easy-minded  man,  who,  on  hearing  of  the  ill  treatment 
offered  to  his  friend,  was  willing  enough  to  perform  the  cere- 
mony. Every  thing  being  previously  arranged,  Mark  and 
Bridget  were  married,  early  one  morning,  during  the  time  the 
latter  was  out,  in  company  with  a  female  friend  of  about  her 
own  age,  to  take  what  her  aunt  believed  was  her  customary 
walk  before  breakfast.  Philadelphia,  in  1796,  was  not  the 
town  it  is  to-day.  It  then  lay,  almost  entirely,  on  the  shores 
of  the  Delaware,  those  of  the  Schuylkill  being  completely  in 
the  country.  What  was  more,  the  best  quarters  were  still 
near  the" river,  and  the  distance  between  the  Eancocus — mean- 
ing  Mark's  ship,  and  not  the  creek  of  that  name — and  the 
house  of  Bridget's  aunt,  was  but  trifling.  The  ceremony  took 
place  in  the  cabin  of  the  vessel  just  named,  which,  now  that 
die  captain  was  ashore  in  his  own  house,  Mark  had  all  to 
himself,  no  second  mate  having  been  shipped,  and  which 
was  by  no  means  an  inappropriate  place  for  the  nuptials  of  a 
pair  like  that  which  our  young  people  turned  out  to  be,  in 
the  end. 

The  Rancocus,  thouffh  not  a  large,  was  a  very  fine,  Philadel- 
phia-built ship,  then  the  be>t  vessels  of  the  country.  She 
of  a  little  less  than  four  hundred  tons  in  measurement,  but  she 
had  a  very  neat  and  commodious  poop-cabin.  Captain  Crutch- 
ely  had  a  thrifty  wife,  who  had  contributed  her  full  share  to 
render  her  husband  comfortable,  and  Bridget  thought  that  the 
room  in  which  she  was  united  to  Mark  was  one  of  the  prettiest 
she  had  ever  seen.  The  reader,  however,  is  not  to  imagine  it 
a  cabin  ornamented  with  marble  columns,  rosewood,  and 
the  maples,  as  so  often  happens  now-a-days.      No  such  extrava- 


2a  the    crater: 

gance  was  dreamed  of  fifty  years  ago  ;  but,  as  far  as  judicious 
arrangements,  neat  joiner's  work,  and  appropriate  furniture 
went,  the  cabin  of  the  Rancocus  was  a  very  respectable  little 
room.  The  circumstance  that  it  was  on  deck,  contributed 
largely  to  its  appearance  and  comfort,  sunken  cabins,  or  those 
below  decks,  being  necessarily  much  circumscribed  in  small 
ships,  in  consequence  of  being  placed  in  a  part  of  the  vessel 
that  is  contracted  in  its  dimensions  under  water,  in  order  to 
help  their  sailing  qualities. 

The  witnesses  of  the  union  of  our  hero  and  heroine  were  the 
female  friend  of  Bridget  named,  the  officiating  clergyman,  and 
one  seaman  who  had  sailed  with  the  bridegroom  in  all  his  voy- 
ages, and  who  was  now  retained  on  board  the  vessel  as  a  ship- 
keeper,  intending  to  go  out  in  her  again,  as  soon  as  she  should 
be  ready  for  sea.  The  name  of  this  mariner  was  Betts,  or  Bob 
Betts  as  he  was  commonly  called  ;  and  as  he  acts  a  conspicuous 
part  in  the  events  to  be  recorded,  it  may  be  well  to  say  a  word 
or  two  more  of  his  history  and  character.  Bob  Betts  was  a 
Jerseyman — or,  as  he  would  have  pronounced  the  word  him- 
self, a  Jarseyman — in  the  American  meaning  of  the  word,  how- 
ever, and  not  in  the  English.  Bob  was  born  in  Cape  May 
county,  and  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica. At  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  he  must  have 
been  about  five-and-thirty,  and  seemingly  a  confirmed  bachelor. 
The  windows  of  Bob's  father's  house  looked  out  upon  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  he  snuffed  sea  air  from  the  hour  of  his 
birth.  At  eight  years  of  age  he  was  placed,  as  cabin-boy,  on 
board  a  coaster  ;  and  from  that  time  down  to  the  moment  when 
he  witnessed  the  marriage  ceremohy  between  Mark  and  Bridget, 
he  had  been  a  sailor.  Throughout  the  whole  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution Bob  had  served  in  the  navy,  in  some  vessel  or  other, 
and  vi  ith  great  good  luck,  never  having  been  made  a  prisoner 
of  war.  In  connection  with  this  circumstance  was  one  of  the 
besetting  weaknesses  of  his  character.  As  often  happens  to  men 
of  no  very  great  breadth  of  views,  Bob  had  a  notion  that  that 
which  he  had  so  successfully  escaped,  viz.j  captivity,  other  men 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  29 

too,  might  have  escaped  had  they  been  equally  as  clever.  Thus 
it  was  that  he  had  an  ill-concealed,  or  only  half-concealed  con- 
tempt for  such  seamen  as  suffered  themselves,  at  any  time  or 
under  any  circumstances,  to  fall  into  the  enemies'  hands.  On 
all  other  subjects  Bob  was  not  only  rational,  but  a  very  discreet 
rand  shrewd  fellow,  though  on  that  he  was  often  harsh,  and 
sometimes  absurd.  But  the  best  men  have  their  weakness,  and 
this  was  Bob  Betts1. 

Captain  Crutchely  had  picked  up  Bob,  just  after  the  peace  of 
1783,  and  had  kept  him  with  him  ever  since.  It  was  to  Bob 
that  he  had  committed  the  instruction  of  Mark,'  when  the  latter 
first  joined  the  ship,  and  from  Bob  the  youth  had  got  his  ear- 
liest notions  of  seamanship.  In  his  calling  Bob  was  full  of 
resources,  and,  as  often  happens  with  the  American  sailor,  he 
was  even  handy  at  a  great  many  other  things,  and  particularly 
so  with  whatever  related  to  practical  mechanics.  Then  he  was 
of  vast  physical  force,  standing  six  feet  two,  in  his  stockings, 
and  was  round-built  and  solid.  Bob  had  one  sterling  quality 
— he  was  as  fast  a  friend  as  ever  existed.  In  this  respect  he 
was  a  model  of  fidelity,  never  seeing  a  fault  in  those  he  loved, 
or  a  good  quality  in  those  he  disliked.  His  attachment  to  Mark 
was  signal,  and  he  looked  on  the  promotion  of  the  young  man 
much  as  he  would  have  regarded  preferment  that  befell  himself. 
In  the  last  voyage  he  had  told  the  people  in  the  forecastle 
''that  young  Mark  Woolston  would  make  a  thorough  sea-dog 
in  time,  and  now  he  had  got  to  be  Mr.  Woolston,  he  expected 
great  things  of  him.  The  happiest  day  of  my  life  will  be  tnat 
on  which  I  can  ship  in  a  craft  commanded  by  Captain  Mark 
Woolston.  I  teached  him,  myself,  how  to  break  the  first  sea- 
biscuit  he  ever  tasted,  and  next  day  he  could  do  it  as  well  as 
any  on  us  !  You  see  how  handy  and  quick  he  is  about  a  ves- 
sel's decks,  shipmates  ;  a  ra'al  rouser  at  a  weather  eariu' — well, 
when  he  first  come  aboard  here,  and  that  was  little  more  than 
two  years  ago,  the  smell  of  tar  would  almost  make  him  swound 
away."  The  latter  assertion  was  one  of  Bob's  embellishments, 
for  Mark  was  never  either  lackadaisical  or  very  delicate.     The 


30  the    crater: 

young  man  cordially  returned  Bob's  regard,  and  the  two  were 
sincere  friends  without  any  phrases  on  the  subject. 

Bob  Betts  was  the  only  male  witness  of  the  marriage  between 
Mark  Woolston  and  Bridget  Yardley,  with  the  exception  of  the 
officiating  clergyman,  as  Mary  Bromley  was  the  only  female. 
Duplicate  certificates,  however,  were  given  to  the  young  couple, 
Mark  placing  his  in  his  writing-desk,  and  Bridget  hers  in  the 
bosom  of  her  dress.  Five  minutes  after  the  ceremony  was 
ended,  the  whole  party  separated,  the  girls  returning  to  their' 
respective  residences,  and  the  clergyman  going  his  way,  leaving 
the  mate  and  the  ship-keeper  together  on  the  vessel's  deck. 
The  latter  did  not  speak,  so  long  as  he  saw  the  bridegroom's 
eyes  fastened  on  the  light  form  of  the  bride,  as  the  latter  went 
swiftly  up  the  retired  wharf  where  the  ship  was  lying,  on  her 
way  to  Front  street,  accompanied  by  her  young  friend.  But 
no  sooner  had  Bridget  turned  a  corner,  and  Bob  saw  that  the 
attraction  was  no  longer  in  view,  than  he  thought  it  becoming 
to  put  in  a  word. 

"  A  trim-built  and  light-sailing  craft,  Mr.  Woolston,"  he  said, 
turning  over  the  quid  in  his  mouth  ;  "  one  of  these  days  she'll 
make  a  noble  vessel  to  command." 

"  She  is  my  captain,  and  ever  will  be,  Bob,"  returned  Mark. 
"  But  you'll  be  silent  concerning  what  has  passed." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir.  It  is  not  my  business  to  keep  a  log  for  all  the 
women  in  the  country  to  chatter  about,  like  so  many  monkeys 
that  have  found  a  bag  of  nuts.  But  what  was  the  meaning  of 
the  parson's  saying  '  with  all  my  worldly  goods  I  thee  endow' 
-—does  that  make  you  any  richer,  or  any  poorer,  sir  ?" 

"Neither,"  answered  Mark,  smiling.  "It  leaves  me  just 
where  I  was,  Bob,  and  where  I  am  likely  to  be  for  some  time 
to  come,  I  fear." 

"And  has  the  young  woman  nothing  herself,  sir?  Some- 
times a  body  picks  up  a  comfortable  chest-full  with  these  sort 
of  things,  as  they  tell  me,  sir. ' ' 

"  I  believe  Bridget  is  as  poor  as  I  am  myself,  Bob,  and  that 
is  saying  all  that  can  be  said  on  such  a  point.     However,  I've 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  81 

secured  her  now,  and  two  years  hence  I'll  claim  her,  if  she  has 
not  a  second  gown  to  wear.  I  dare  say  the  old  man  will  be  for 
turning  her  adrift  with  as  little  as  possible." 

All  this  was  a  proof  of  Mark's  entire  disinterestedness.  He 
did  not  know  that  his  young  bride  had  quite  thirty  thousand 
dollars  in  reversion,  or,  in  one  sense,  in  possession,  although 
she  could  derive  no  benefit  from  it  until  she  was  of  age,  or  mar- 
ried, and  past  her  eighteenth  year.  This  fact  her  husband 
did  nut  learn  fur  several  days  after  his  marriage,  when  his  bride 
communicated  it  to  him,  with  a  proposal  that  he  should  quit 
the  sea,  and  remain  with  her  for  lite.  Mark  was  very  much  in 
love,  but  this  scheme  scarce  afforded  him  the  satisfaction  that 
one  might  have  expected.  He  was  attached  to  his  profession, 
and  scarce  relished  the  thought  of  being  dependent  altogethei 
on  his  wife  for  the  means  of  subsistence.  The  struggle  between 
love  and  pride  was  great,  but  Mark,  at  length,  yielded  to 
Bridget's  blandishments,  tenderness,  and  tears.  They  could 
only  meet  at  the  house  of  Mary  Bromley,  the  bride's-maid,  but 
then  the  interviews  between  them  were  as  frequent  as  Mark's 
duty  would  allow.  The  result  was  that  Bridget  prevailed,  and 
the  young  husband  went  up  to  Bristol  and  candidly  related  all 
that  had  passed,  thus  revealing,  in  less  than  a  week,  a  secret 
which  it  was  intended  should  remain  hid  for  at  least  two  years. 

Doctor  Woolston  was  sorely  displeased,  at  first;  but  the 
event  had  that  about  it  which  would  be  apt  to  console  a  parent. 
Bridget  was  not  only  young,  and  affectionate,  and  beautiful,  and 
truthful,  but,  according  to  the  standard  of  Bristol,  she  was  rich. 
There  was  a  consolation  in  all  this,  notwithstanding  professional 
rivalry  and  personal  dislikes.  We  are  not  quite  certain  that  he 
did  not  feel  a  slight  gratification  at  the  thought  of  his  son's  en- 
joying the  fortune  which  his  rival  had  received  from  his  wife, 
and  which,  but  for  the  will  of  the  grandfather,  would  have  been 
.  'd  by  that  rival  himself.  Nevertheless,  the  g<->od  doctor 
did  his  duty  in  the  premises.  He  communicated  the  news  of 
the  marriage,  to  Doctor  Yardley  in  a  very  civilly-worded  note, 
which  left  a  fair  opening  for  a  settlement  of  all  difficulties,  had 


32  the    crater: 

the  latter  been  so  pleased.  The  latter  did  not  so  please,  how- 
ever, but  exploded  in  a  terrible  burst  of  passion,  which  almost 
carried  him  off  in  a  fit  of  apoplexy. 

Escaping  all  physical  dangers,  in  the  end,  Doctor  Yardley 
went  immediately  to  Philadelphia,  and  brought  his  daughter 
home.  Both  Mark  and  Bridget  now  felt  that  they  had  offended 
against  one  of  the  simplest  commands  of  God.  They  had  not 
honored  their  father  and  their  mother,  and  even  thus  early  came 
the  consciousness  of  their  offence.  It  was  in  Mark's  power, 
however,  to  go  and  claim  his  wife,  and  remove  her  to  his  fa- 
ther's house,  notwithstanding  his  minority  and  that  of  Bridget. 
In  this  last  respect,  the  law  offered  no  obstacle  ;  but  the  dis- 
cretion of  Doctor  Woolston  did.  This  gentleman,  through  the 
agency  of  a  common  friend,  had  an  interview  with  his  competi- 
tor, and  they  talked  the  matter  over  in  a  tolerably  composed 
and  reasonable  temper.  Both  the  parents,  as  medical  men, 
agreed  that  it  would  be  better  that  the  young  couple  should 
not  live  together  for  two  or  three  years,  the  very  tender  age  of 
Bridget,  in  particular,  rendering  this  humane,  as  well  as  discreet. 
Nothing  was  said  of  the  fortune,  which'  mollified  Doctor  Yard- 
ley  a  good  deal,  since  he  would  be  left  to  manage  it,  or  at  least 
to  receive  the  income,  so  long  as  no  legal  claimant  interfered 
with  his  control.  Elderly  gentlemen  submit  very  easily  to  this 
sort  of  influence.  Then,  Doctor  Woolston  was  exceedingly 
polite,  and  spoke  to  his  rival  of  a  difficult  case  in  his  own 
practice,  as  if  indirectly  to  ask  an  opinion  of  his  competitor. 
All  this  contributed  to  l'ender  the  interview  more  amicable  than 
had  been  hoped,  and  the  parties  separated,  if  not  friends,  at  least 
with  an  understanding  on  the  subject  of  future  proceedings. 

It  was  decided  that  Mark  should  continue  in  the  Raneocus 
for  another  voyage.  It  was  known  the  ship  was  to  proceed  to 
some  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  in  quest  of  a  cargo  of  sandal- 
Avood  and  beche-le-mar,  for  the  Chinese  market,  and  that  her 
next  absence  from  home  would  be  longer,  even,  than  her  last. 
By  the  time  the  vessel  returned,  Mark  would  be  of  age,  and 
fit  to  command  a  ship  himself,  should  it  be  thought  expedient 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  33 

for  him  to  continue  in  his  profession.  During  the  period  the 
vessel  still  remained  in  port,  Mark  was  to  pay  occasional  visits 
to  his  wife,  though  not  to  live  with  her ;  but  the  young  couple 
might  correspond  by  letter,  as  often  as  they  pleased.  Such  was 
an  outline  of  the  treaty  made  between  the  high  contracting 
parties. 

In  making  these  arrangements,  Doctor  Yard  ley  was  partly 
influenced  by  a  real  paternal    interest   in    the  welfare    of  his 
daughter,  who  he  thought  altogether  too  young  to  enter  on  the 
duties  and  cares  of  the  married  life.     Below  the  surface,  how- 
ever, existed  an  indefinite  hope  that  something  might  yet  occur 
to  prevent  the  consummation  of  this  most  unfortunate  union,  as 
he  deemed  the  marriage  to  be,  and  thus  enable  him  to  get  rid 
of  the  hateful  connection  altogether.     How  this  was  to  happen, 
the  worthy  doctor  certainty  did  not  know.     This  was  because 
he  lived  in  1796,  instead  of  in  1847.     Xow-a-days,  nothing  is 
easier  than  to  separate  a  man  from  his  wife,  unless  it  be  to  ob- 
tain civic  honors  for  a  murderer.     Doctor  Yardley,  at  the  pres- 
ent moment,  would  have  coolly  gone  to  work  to  get  up  a  lam- 
entable tale  about  his  daughter's  fortune,  and  youth,  and  her 
not  knowing   her  own  mind  when  she  married,  and  a  ship"s 
cabin,  and  a  few  other  embellishments  of  that  sort,  when  the 
worthy  and  benevolent  statesmen  who  compose   the  differeut 
atures  of  this  vast  Union  would  have  been  ready  to  break 
their  necks,  in  order  to  pass  a  bill  of  divorce.     Had  there  been 
a  child  or  two,   it  would  have  made  no  great  difference;  for 
means  would  have  been  devised  to  give  the  custody  of  them 
to  the    mother.      This  would  have    been   done,   quite   likely, 
for  the  first  five  years  of  the  lives  of  the  dear  little  things,  be- 
cause the  children  would  naturally  require  a  mother's  care  ;  and 
afterward,  because  the  precocious  darlings,  at  the  mature  age  of 
seven,  would   declare,   in  open   court,  that  th.y  really   loved 
"ma"  more  than  they  did  "  pa  !"  To  write  a  little  plainly  on  a 
very  important  subject,  we  are   of  opinion  that  a   new' name 
ought  to  be  adopted  for  the  form  of  government  which  is  so 
fast  creeping  into  this  country.   New  things  require  new  names; 

9* 


34  the    ckatek: 

and,  were  Solomon  now  living,  we  will  venture  to  predict  two 
thino-s  of  him,  viz.,  he  would  change  his  mind  on  the  subje  t 
of  novelties,  and  he  would  never  go  to  Congress.  As  for  the 
new  name,  we  would  respectfully  suggest  that  of  Gossipian,  in 
lieu  of  that  of  Republican,  gossip  fast  becoming  the  lever  that 
moves  every  thing  in  the  land.  The  newspapers,  true  to  their 
instincts  of  consulting  the  ruling  tastes,  deal  much  more  in 
gossip  than  they  deal  in  reason  ;  the  courts  admit  it  as  evidence; 
the  juries  receive  it  as  fact,  as  well  as  the  law;  and  as  for  the 
legislatures,  let  a  piteous  talc  but  circulate  freely  in  the  lobbies, 
and  bearded  men,  like  Juliet  when  a  child,  as  described  by  her 
nurse,  will  "stint  and  cry,  ay!"  In  a  word,  principles  and 
proof  are  in  much  less  esteem  than  assertions  and  numbers, 
backed  with  enough  of  which,  any  thing  may  be  made  to  ap- 
pear as  legal,  or  even  constitutional. 

But  neither  of  our  doctors  entered  into  all  these  matters.  It 
was  enough  for  them  that  the  affair  of  the  marriage  was  dis- 
posed of,  for  a  time  at  least,  and  things  were  permitted  to  drop 
into  their  ancient  channels.  The  intercourse  between  Bridget 
and  Anne  was  renewed,  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and 
Mark's  letters  to  his  virgin  bride  were  numerous,  and  filled 
with  passion.  The  ship  was  "  taking  in,"  and  he  could  only 
leave  her  late  on  Saturday  afternoons,  but  each  Sunday  he  con- 
trived to  pass  in  Bristol.  On  such  occasions  he  saw  his  charm- 
ing wife  at  church,  and  he  walked  with  her  in  the  fields,  along 
with  Anne  and  a  favored  admirer  of  hers,  of  an  afternoon,  re- 
turning to  town  in  season  to  be  at  his  post  on  the  opening  of 
the  hatches,  of  a  Monday  morning. 

In  less  than  a  month  after  the  premature  marriage  between 
Mark  Woolston  and  Bridget  Yardley,  the  Rancocus  cleared  for 
the  Pacific  and  Canton.  The  bridegroom  found  one  dav  to 
pass  in  Bristol,  and  Doctor  Yardley  so  far  pitied  his  daughter's 
distress,  as  to  consent  that  the  two  girls  should  go  to  town,  un- 
der his  own  care,  and  see  the  young  man  off.  This  concession 
was  received  with  the  deepest  gratitude,  and  made  the  young 
paople  momentarily  very  happy.     The  doctor  even  consented 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  35 

to  visit  the  ship,  which  Captain  Crutchely,  laughing,  called  St. 
Mark's  chapel,  in  consequence  of  the  religious  rite  which  had 
been  performed  on  board  her.  Mrs.  Crutchely  was  there,  on 
the  occasion  of  this  visit,  attending  to  her  husband's  comforts, 
by  fitting  curtains  to  his  berth,  and  looking  after  matters  in 
general  in  the  cabin  ;  and  divers  jokes  were  ventured  by  the 
honest  ship-master,  in  making  his  comments  on,  and  in  giving 
his  opinion  of  the  handy-work  of  his  own  consort.  He  made 
Bridget  blush  more  than  once,  though  her  enduring  tenderness 
in  behalf  of  Mark  induced  her  to  sit  out  all  the  captain's  wit, 
rather  than  shorten  a  visit  so  precious,  one  moment. 

The  final  parting  was  an  hour  of  bitter  sorrow.  Even 
Mark's  young  heart,  manly,  and  much  disposed  to  do  his  duty 
as  he  was,  was  near  breaking ;  while  Bridget  almost  dissolved 
in  tears.  They  could  not  but  think  how  long  that  separation 
was  to  last,  though  they  did  not  anticipate  by  what  great  and 
mysterious  events  it  was  to  be  prolonged.  It  was  enough  for 
them  that  they  were  to  live  asunder  two  whole  years  ;  and  two 
whole  years  appear  like  an  age,  to  those  who  have  not  yet  lived 
their  four  lustrums.  But  the  final  moment  must  and  did  arrive, 
and  the  young  people  were  compelled  to  tear  themselves  asun- 
der, though  the  parting  was  like  that  of  soul  and  body.  The 
bride  hung  on  the  bridegroom's  neck,  as  the  tendril  clings  to 
its  support,  until  removed  by  gentle  violence. 

Bridget  did  not  give  up  her  hold  upon  Mark  so  long  as  even 
his  vessel  remained  in  sight.  She  went  with  Anne,  in  a  car- 
riage, as  low  as  the  Point,  and  saw  the  Rancocus  pass  swiftly 
down  the  river,  on  this,  its  fourth  voyage,  bearing  those  in  her 
who  as  little  dreamed  of  their  fate,  as  the  unconscious  woods 
and  metals,  themselves,  of  which  the  ship  was  constructed. 
Mark  felt  his  heart  beat,  when  he  saw  a  woman's  handkerchief 
waving  to  him  from  the  shore,  and  a  fresh  burst  of  tenderness 
nearly  unmanned  him,  when,  by  the  aid  of  the  glass,  he  recog- 
nized the  sweet  countenance  and  fairy  figure  of  Bridget,  lav 
minutes  later,  distance  and  interposing  objects  separated  that 
young  couple  for  many  a  weary  day  ! 


36  the    crater: 

A  few  days  at  sea  restored  the  equanimity  of  Mark's  feel- 
ings, while  the  poignant  grief  of  Bridget  did  not  fail  to  receive 
the  solace  which  time  brings  to  sorrow  of  every  degree  and 
nature.  They  thought  of  each  other  often,  and  tenderly  ;  but, 
the  pain  of  parting  over,  they  both  began  to  look  forward  to 
the  joys  of  meeting,  with  the  buoyancy  and  illusions  that  hope 
is  so  apt  to  impart  to  the  bosoms  of  the  young  and  inexpe- 
rienced. Little  did  either  dream  of  what  was  to  occur  before 
their  eyes  were  to  be  again  gladdened  with  the  sight  of  their 
respective  forms. 

Mark  found  in  his  state-room — for,  in  the  Rancocus,  the  cabin 
was  fitted  with  four  neat  little  state-rooms,  one  for  the  captain, 
and  two  for  the  mates,  with  a  fourth  for  the  supercargo — many 
proofs  of  Bridget's  love  and  care.  Mrs.  Crutchely,  herself, 
though  so  much  longer  experienced,  had  scarcely  looked  after 
the  captain's  comfort  with  more  judgment,  and  certainly  not 
with  greater  solicitude,  than  this  youthful  bride  had  expended 
on  her  bridegroom's  room.  In  that  day,  artists  were  not  very 
numerous  in  America,  nor  is  it  very  probable  that  Doctor  Yard- 
ley  would  have  permitted  his  daughter  to  take  so  decided  a  step 
as  to  sit  for  her  miniature  for  Mark's  possession ;  but  she  had 
managed  to  get  her  profile  cut,  and  to  have  it  framed,  and  the 
mate  discovered  it  placed  carefully  among  his  effects,  when  only 
a  week  out.  From  this  profile  Mark  derived  the  greatest  con- 
solation. It  wras  a  good  one,  and  Bridget  happened  to  have  a 
face  that  would  tell  in  that  sort  of  thing,  so  that  the  husband 
had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  wife,  in  this  little  image. 
There  it  was,  with  the  very  pretty  slight  turn  of  the  head  to 
one  side,  that  in  Bridget  was  both  natural  and  graceful.  Mark 
spent  hours  in  gazing  at  and  in  admiring  this  inanimate  shadow 
of  his  bride,  which  never  failed  to  recall  to  him  all  her  grace,  and 
nature,  and  tenderness,  and  love,  though  it  could  not  convey 
any  direct  expression  of  her  animation  and  spirit. 

It  is  said  ships  have  no  Sundays.  The  meaning  of  this  is 
merely  that  a  vessel  must  perform  her  work,  week-days  and  sab- 
baths, day  and  night,  in  fair  or  foul.     The  Rancocus  formed  no 


OR,     VULCA.v's      PEAK.  37 

exception  to  the  rule,  and  on  she  travelled,  having  a  road  before 
her  that  it  would  require  months  ere  the  end  of  it  could  be 
found.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  dwell  on  the  details  of  this 
long  voyage,  for  two  reasons.  One  is  the  fact  that  most  v  >y- 
ages  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  American  continent,  are 
marked  by  the  same  incidents  ;  and  the  other  is,  that  we  have 
much  other  matter  to  relate,  that  must  be  given  with  great  at- 
tention to  minutiae,  and  which,  we  think,  will  have  much  more 
interest  with  the  reader. 

Captain  Crutchely  touched  at  Rio  for  supplies,  as  is  custom- 
ary ;  and,  after  passing  a  week  in  that  most  delightful  of  all 
havens,  went  his  way.  The  passage  round  the  Horn  was  re- 
markable neither  way.  It  could  not  be  called  a  very  boisterous 
one,  neither  was  the  weather  unusually  mild.  Ships  do  double 
this  cape,  occasionally,  under  their  top-gallant-sails,  and  we 
have  heard  of  one  vessel  that  did  not  furl  her  royals  for  several 
days,  while  off  that  formidable  headland  ;  but  these  cases  form 
the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  The  Eancocus  was  under  close- 
reefed  top-sails  for  the  better  part  of  a  fortnight,  in  beating  to 
the  southward  and  westward,  it  blowing  very  fresh  the  whole 
time ;  and  she  might  have  been  twice  as  long  struggling  with 
the  south-westerly  gales,  but  for  the  fortunate  circumstance  of 
the  wind's  veering  so  far  to  the  southward  as  to  permit  her  to 
lay  her  course,  when  she  made  a  great  run  to  the  westward. 
When  the  wind  again  hauled,  as  haul  it  was  almost  certain  to 
do,  Captain  Crutchely  believed  himself  in  a  meridian  that  would 
admit  of  his  running  with  an  easy  bowline,  on  the  larboard  tack. 
No  one  but  a  sailor  can  understand  the  effect  of  checking  the 
weather-braces,  if  it  be  only  for  a  few  feet,  and  of  getting  a 
weather-leach  to  stand  without  "  swigging  out"  on  its  bowline. 
It  has  much  the  same  influence  on  the  progress  of  a  ship,  that 
an  eloquent  speech  has  on  the  practice  of  an  advocate,  a  great 
cure  or  a  skilful  operation  on  that  of  a  medical  man,  or  a  lucky 
hit  in  trade  on  the  fortunes  of  a  young  merchant.  Away  all  go 
alike,  if  not  absolutely  with  flowing  sheets,  easily,  swiftly,  and 
with  less  of  labor  than  was  their  wont.     Thus  did  it  now  prove 


38  the    crater: 

with  the  good  ship  Rancocus.  Instead  of  struggling  hard  with 
the  seas  to  get  three  knots  ahead,  she  now  made  her  six,  and 
kept  all,  or  nearly  all,  she  made.  When  she  saw  the  land 
again,  it  was  found  there  was  very  little  to  spare,  but  that  little 
sufficed.  The  vessel  passed  to  windward  of  every  thing,  and 
went  on  her  way  rejoicing,  like  any  other  that  had  been  success- 
ful in  a  hard  and  severe  struggle.  A  fortnight  later,  the  ship 
touched  at  Valparaiso. 

The  voyage  of  the  Rancocus  may  now  be  said  to  have  com- 
menced in  earnest.  Hitherto  she  had  done  little  but  make  her 
way  across  the  endless  waste  of  waters ;  but  now  she  had  the 
real  business  before  her  to  execute.  A  considerable  amount  of 
freight,  which  had  been  brought  on  account  of  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment, was  discharged,  and  the  vessel  filled  up  her  water. 
Certain  supplies  of  food  that  were  deemed  useful  in  cases  of 
scurvy,  were  obtained,  and,  after  a  delay  of  less  than  a  fortnight, 
the  ship  once  more  put  to  sea. 

In  the  year  1796,  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  by  no  means  as 
familiar  to  navigators  as  it  is  to-day.  Cooke  had  made  his  cel- 
ebrated voyages  less  than  twenty  years  before,  and  the  accounts 
of  them  were  then  before  the  world ;  but  even  Cooke  left  a 
great  deal  to  be  ascertained,  more  especially  in  the  way  of  de- 
tails. The  first  inventor  or  discoverer  of  any  thing,  usually 
gains  a  great  name,  though  it  is  those  who  come  after  him  that 
turn  his  labors  to  account.  Did  we  know  no  more  of  America 
to-day  than  was  known  to  Columbus,  our  knowledge  would  be 
very  limited,  and  the  benefits  of  his  vast  enterprise  still  in  their 
infancy. 

Compared  with  its  extent,  perhaps,  and  keeping  in  view  its 
ordinary  weather,  the  Pacific  can  hardly  be  considered  a  dan- 
gerous sea ;  but  he  who  will  cast  his  eyes  over  its  chart, 
will  at  once  ascertain  how  much  more  numerous  are  its  groups, 
islands,  rocks,  shoals,  and  reefs,  than  those  of  the  Atlantic. 
Still,  the  mariners  unhesitatingly  steered  out  into  its  vast  waters, 
and  none  with  less  reluctance  and  fewer  doubts  than  those  of 
America. 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK 


39 


For  Dearly  two  months  did  Captain  Crutchely,  after  quitting 
Valparaiso,  hold  hh  way  into  the'  depths  of  that  mighty  sea, 
in  search  of  the  islands  he  had  been  directed  to  find.  Sandal- 
wood was  his  aim — a  branch  of  commerce,  by  the  way,  which 
ought  never  to  be  pursued  by  any  Christian  man,  or  Christian 
nation,  if  what  we  hear  of  its  uses  in  China  be  true.  There,  it 
is  said  to  be  burned  as  incense  before  idols,  and  no  higher 
offence  can  be  committed  by  any  human  being  than  to  be  prin- 
cipal, or  accessory,  in  any  manner  or  way,  to  the  substitution 
of  any  created  thing  for  the  ever-living  God.  In  after-life  Mark 
Woolston  often  thought  of  this,  when  reflection  succeeded  to 
action,  and  when  he  came  to  muse  on  the  causes  which  may 
have  led  to  his  being  the  subject  of  the  wonderful  events  that 
occurred  in  connection  with  his  own  fortunes.  We  have  now 
reached  a  part  of  our  narrative,  however,  when  it  becomes  nec- 
essary to  go  into  details,  which  we  shall  defer  to  the  com- 
mencement of  a  new  chapter. 


iO  THE      CRATER 


CHAPTER  IIL 

41  God  of  the  dark  and  heavy  deep ! 

The  waves  lie  sleeping  on  the  sands, 
Till  the  fierce  trumpet  of  the  storm 

Hath  summoned  up  their  thundering  bands; 
Then  the  white  sails  are  dashed  like  foam, 

Or  hurry  trembling;  o'er  the  seas, 
Till,  calmed  by  thee,  the  sinking  gale 
Serenely  breathes,  Depart  in  peace." 

Peabodt. 

The  day  tnat  preceded  the  night  of  Avhich  we  are  ahout  to 
speak,  was  misty,  with  the  wind  fresh  at  east-south-east.  The 
Rancocus  was  running  off,  south-west,  and  consequently  was 
.going  with  the  wind  free.  Captain  Crutchely  had  one  failing, 
and  it  was  a  very  had  one  for  a  ship-master  ;  he  would  drink 
rather  too  much  grog,  at  his  dinner.  At  all  other  times  he 
might  have  been  called  a  sober  man  ;  but,  at  dinner,  he  would 
gulp  down  three  or  four  glasses  of  rum-and-water.  In  that  day 
rum  was  much  used  in  America,  far  more  than  brandy  ;  and 
every  dinner-table,  that  had  the  smallest  pretension  to  be 
above  that  of  the  mere  laboring  man,  had,  at  least,  a  bottle  of 
one  of  these  liquors  on  it.  Wine  was  not  commonly  seen  at 
the  cabin-table  ;  or,  if  seen,  it  was  in  those  vessels  that  had  re- 
cently been  in  the  vine-growing  countries,  and  on  special  occa- 
sions. Captain  Crutchely  was  fond  of  the  pleasures  of  the  table 
in  another  sense.  His  eating  was  on  a  level  with  his  drinking  ; 
and  for  pigs,  and  poultry,  and  vegetables  that  would  keep  at 
sea,  his  ship  was  always  a  little  remarkable. 

On  the  day  in  question,  it  happened  to  be  the  birthday  of 
Mrs.  Crutchely,  and  the  captain  had  drunk  even  a  little  more 
than  common.     Now,  when  a  man  is  in  the  habit  of  drinking 


o.r,    vulcan's    peak.  41 

rather  more  than  is  good  for  him,  an  addition  of  a  little  more 
than  common  is  very  apt  to  upset  him.  Such,  in  sober  truth, 
was  the  case  with  the  commander  of  the  Rancocus,  when  he 
left  the  dinner-table,  at  the  time  to  which  there  is  particular 
allusion.  Mark,  himself,  was  perfectly  sober.  The  taste  of 
rum  was  unpleasant  to  him,  nor  did  his  young  blood  and  buoy- 
ant spirits  crave  its  effects.  If  he  touched  it  at  all,  it  was  in 
very  small  quantities,  and  greatly  diluted  with  water.  He  Baw 
the  present  condition  of  his  superior,  therefore,  with  regret ; 
and  this  so  much  the  more,  from  the  circumstance  that  an  un- 
pleasant report  was  prevailing  in  the  ship,  that  white  water  had 
been  seen  ahead,  during  a  clear  moment,  by  a  man  who  had 
just  come  from  aloft.  This  report  the  mate  repeated  to  the 
captain,  accompanying  it  with  a  suggestion  that  it  might 
be  well  to  shorten  sail,  round-to,  and  sound.  But  Captain 
Crutchely  treated  the  report  with  no  respect,  swearing  that  the 
men  were  always  fancying  they  were  going  ashore  on  coral,  and 
that  the  voyage  would  last  forever,  did  he  comply  with  all  their 
conceits  of  this  nature.  Unfortunately,  the  second  mate  was  an 
old  sea-dog,  who  owed  his  present  inferior  condition  to  his  be- 
ing a  great  deal  addicted  to  the  practice  in  which  his  captain 
indulged  only  a  little,  and  he  had  been  sharing  largely  in  the 
hospitality  of  the  cabin  that  afternoon,  it  beinghis  watch  below. 
This  man  supported  the  captain  in  his  contempt  for  the  rumors 
and  notions  of  the  crew,  and  between  them  Mark  found  himself 
silenced. 

Our  young  officer  felt  very  uneasy  at  the  account  of  the 
sailor  who  had  reported  white  water  ahead,  for  he  was  one  of 
the  best  men  in  the  ship,  and  altogether  unlikely  to  say  that 
which  was  not  true.  It  being  now  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  the  second  mate  having  taken  charge  of  the  watch,  Mark 
went  up  into  the  fore-top-gallant  cross-trees  himself,  in  order  to 
get  the  best  look  ahead  that  he  could  before  the  night  set  in. 
It  wanted  but  half  an  hour,  or  so,  of  sunset,  when  the  young 
man  took  his  station  in  the  cross-trees,  the  royal  not  being  set. 
At  first,  he  could  discern  nothing  ahead,  at  a  distance  greater 


42  the    crater: 

than  a  mile,  on  account  of  the  mist ;  but,  just  as  the  sun  went 
below  the  waters,  it  lighted  up  to  the  westward,  and  Mark 
then  plainly  saw  what  he  was  perfectly  satisfied  must  be 
breakers,  extending  for  several  miles  directly  across  the  vessel's 
track  ! 

Such  a  discovery  required  decision,  and  the  young  man 
shouted  out — 

"  Breakers  ahead !" 

This  cry,  coining  from  his  first  officer,  startled  even  Captain 
Crutchely,  who  was  recovering  a  little  from  the  effect  of  his 
potations,  though  it  was  still  treated  with  contempt  by  the 
second  mate,  who  had  never  forgiven  one  as  young  as  Mark, 
for  getting  a  berth  that  he  fancied  due  to  his  own  greater  age 
and  experience.  He  laughed  openly  at  this  second  report  of 
breakers,  at  a  point  in  the  ocean  where  the  chart  laid  down  a 
clear  sea  ;  but  the  captain  knew  that  the  charts  could  only  tell 
him  what  was  known  at  the  time  they  were  made,  and  he  felt 
disposed  to  treat  his  first  officer,  young  as  he  was,  with  more 
respect  than  the  second  mate.  All  hands  were  called  in  con- 
sequence, and  sail  was- shortened.  Mark  came  down' to  assist 
in  this  duty,  while  Captain  Crutchely  himself  went  aloft  to 
look  out  for  the  breakers.  They  passed  each  other  in  the  top, 
the  latter  desiring'  his  mate  to  bring  the  ship  by  the  wind,  on 
the  larboard  tack,  or  with  her  head  to  the  southward,  as  soon 
as  he  had  the  sail  sufficiently  reduced  to  do  so  with  safety. 

For  a  few  minutes  after  he  reached  the  deck,  Mark  was  fully 
employed  in  executing  his  orders.  Sail  was  shortened  with 
great  rapidity,  the  men  working  with  zeal  and  alarm,  for  they 
believed  their  messmate  when  the  captain  had  not.  Although 
the  vessel  was  under  top-mast  studding-sails  when  the  command 
to  take  in  the  canvas  was  given,  it  was  not  long  before  Mark 
had  her  under  her  three  top-sails,  and  these  with  two  reefs  in 
them,  and  the  ship  on  an  easy  bowline,  with  her  head  to  the 
southward.  When  all  this  was  done,  the  young  man  felt  a 
good  deal  of  relief,  for  the  danger  he  had  seen  was  ahead,  and 
this  change  of  course  brought  it  nearly  abeam.      It  is  true,  tho 


OB,     VULCAN    S      PEAK.  43 

breakers  were  still  to  leeward,  and  insomuch  raosl  dangerously 
situated  ;  but  the  wind  did  not  blow  strong  enough  to  prevent 
the  ship  from  weathering  them,  provided  time  was  taken  by 
the  forelock.  The  Rancocus  was  a  good,  weathetly  ship,  nor 
was  there  sufficient  sea  on  to  make  it  at  all  difficult  for  her  to 
claw  off  a  lee  shore.  Desperate,  indeed,  is  the  situation  of  the 
vessel  that  has  rocks  or  sands  under  her  lee,  with  the  gale 
blowing  in  her  teeth,  and  heavy  seas  sending  her  bodily,  and 
surely,  however  slowly,  on  the  very  breakers  she  is  struggling 
to  avoid  !  Captain  Crutchely  had  not  been  aloft  five  minutes 
before  he  hailed  the  deck,  and  ordered  Mark  to  send  Bob 
Betts  up  to  the  cross-trees.  Bob  had  the  reputation  of  being 
the  brightest  look-out  in  the  vessel,  and  was  usually  employed 
when  land  was  about  to  be  approached,  or  a  sail  was  expected 
to  be  made.  He  went  up  the  fore-rigging  like  a  squirrel,  and 
was  soon  at  the  captain's  side,  both  looking  anxiously  to  lee- 
ward. A  few  minutes  after  the  ship  had  hauled  by  the  wind, 
both  came  down,  stopping  in  the  top,  however,  to  take  one 
more  look  to  leeward. 

The  second  mate  stood  waiting  the  further  descent  of  the 
captain,  with  a  sort  of  leering  look  of  contempt  on  his  hard,  well- 
dyed  features,  which  seemed  to  anticipate  that  it  would  soon 
be  known  that  Mark's  white  water  had  lost  its  color,  and  be- 
come blue  water  once  more.  But  Captain  Crutchely  did  not 
go  as  far  as  this,  when  he  got  down.  He  admitted  that  he  had 
seen  nothing  that  he  could  very  decidedly  say  was  breakers, 
but  that,  once  or  twice,  when  it  lighted  up  a  little,  there  had 
been  a  gleaming  along  the  western  horizon  which  a  good  deal 
puzzled  him.  It  might  be  white  water,  or  it  might  be  only  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  tipping  the  combs  of  the  regular 
Bob  Betts,  too,  was  as  much  at  fault  as  his  captain,  and 
a  sarcastic  remark  or  two  of  Hillson,  the  second  mate,  were  fast 
bringing  Mark's  breakers  into  discredit, 

••Jest  look  at  the  chart,  Captain  Crutchely,"  put  in  Hillson 
— "  a  regular  Tower  Hill  chart  as  ever  was  made,  aud  you'll 
see  there  can  be  no  white  water  hereabout-.     If  a  man   is  to 


44  the    crater: 

shorten  sail  and  haul  his  wind,  at  every  dead  whale  he  falls  in 
with,  in  these  seas,  his  owners  will  have  the  balance  on  the 
wrong  side  of  the  book  at  the  end  of  the  v'y'ge !" 

This  told  hard  against  Mark,  and  considerably  in  Hillson's 
favor. 

"  And  could  you  see  nothing  of  breakers  ahead,  Bob  ?"  de- 
manded Mark,  with  an  emphasis  on  the  "you"  which  pretty 
plainly  implied  that  the  young  man  was  not  so  much  surprised 
that  the  captain  had  not  seen  them. 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,  Mr.  Woolston,"  answered  Bob,  hitching  up 
his  trowsers,  "  and  I'd  a  pretty  good  look  ahead,  too." 

This  made  still  more  against  Mark,  and  Captain  Crutchely 
sent  for  the  chart.  Over  this  map  he  and  the  second  mate 
pondered  with  a  sort  of  muzzy  sagacity,  when  they  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  clear  sea  must  prevail  around  them,  in  all 
directions,  for  a  distance  exceeding  a  thousand  miles.  A  great 
deal  is  determined  in  any  case  of  a  dilemma,  when  it  is  decided 
that  this  or  that  fact  must  be  so.  Captain  Crutchely  would  not 
have  arrived  at  this  positive  conclusion  so  easily,  had  not  his 
reasoning  powers  been  so  much  stimulated  by  his  repeated 
draughts  of  rum-and-water,  that  afternoon  ;  all  taken,  as  he  said 
and  believed,  not  so  much  out  of  love  for  the  beverage  itself,  as 
out  of  love  for  Mrs.  John  Crutchely.  Nevertheless,  our  captain 
was  accustomed  to  take  care  of  a  ship,  and  he  was  not  yet  in  a 
condition  to  forget  all  his  duties,  in  circumstances  so  critical. 
As  Mark  solemnly  and  steadily  repeated  his  own  belief  that 
there  were  breakers  ahead,  he  so  far- yielded  to  the  opinions  of 
his  youthful  chief  mate  as  to  order  the  deep-sea  up,  and  to  pre- 
pare to  sound. 

This  operation  of  casting  the  deep-sea  lead  is  not  done  in  a 
moment,  but  on  board  a  merchant  vessel,  usually  occupies  from 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  twenty  minutes.  The  ship  must  first  be 
hove-to,  and  her  way  ought  to  be  as  near  lost  as  possible  before 
the  cast  is  made.  Then  the  getting  along  of  the  line,  the 
stationing  of  the  men,  and  the  sounding  and  hauling  in  again, 
occupy  a  good  many  minutes.     By  the  time  it  was  all  over,  on 


OR,     VULCAN 'SPEAK.  45 

this  occasion,  it  was  getting  to  be  night,  The  misty,  drizzling 
weather  threatened  to  make  the  darkness  intense,  and  Mark  felt 
more  and  more  impressed  with  the  danger  in  which  the  ship 
was  pla< 

The  cast  of  the  lead  produced  no  other  result  than  the  cer- 
tainty that  bottom  was  not  to  be  found  with  four  hundred 
fathoms  of  line  out.  No  one,  however,  not  even  the  muzzv 
Hillson,  attached  much  importance  to  this  fact,  inasmuch  as  it 
was  known  that  the  coral  reefs  often  rise  like  perpendicular 
walls  in  the  ocean,  having  no  bottom  to  be  found  within  a 
cable's-length  of  them.  Then  Mark  did  not  believe  the  ship  to 
be  within  three  leagues  of  the  breakers  he  had  seen,  for  they 
had  seemed,  both  to  him  and  to  the  seaman  who  had  first  re- 
ported them,  to  be  several  leagues  distant.  One  on  an  eleva- 
tion like  that  of  the  top-gallant  cross-trees,  could  see  a  lono- 
way,  and  the  white  water  had  appeared  to  Mark  to  be  on  the 
very  verge  of  the  western  horizon,  even  as  seen  from  his  lofty 
look-out. 

After  a  further  consultation  with  his  officers,  during  which 
Hillson  had  not  spared  his  hits  at  his  less  experienced  superior, 
Captain  Crutchelv  came  to  a  decision,  which  might  be  termed 
semi-prudent.  There  is  nothing  that  a  seaman  more  dislikes 
than  to  be  suspected  of  extra  nervousness  on  the  subject  of 
doubtful  dangers  of  this  sort.  Seen  and  acknowledged,  he  has 
no  scruples  about  doing  his  best  to  avoid  them;  but  so  long  ■ 
as  there  is  an  uncertainty  connected  with  their  existence  at  all, 
that  miserable  feeling  of  vanity  which  renders  us  all  so  desirous 
to  be  more  than  nature  ever  intended  ns  for,  inclines  most  men 
to  appear  indifferent  even  while  they  dread.  The  wisest  thing 
Captain  Crutchely  could  have  done,  placed  in  the  circumE 
ees  in  which  he  now  found  himself,  would  have  been  to  stand 
off  and  on,  under  easy  canvas,  until  the  return  of  light,  when  he 
might  have  gone  ahead  on  his  course  with  some  confidence, 
:1U!l  ;<   2  d  more  of  safety.      But  there  would  have  been 

an  air  of  concession  to  the  power  of  an  unknown  danger,  that 
conflicted   with   his  pride,    in  such  a  course,  and  the  old  and 


46  the    crater: 

well-tried  ship-master  did  not  like  to  give  the  "  uncertain"  thia 
advantage  over  him.  He  decided,  therefore,  to  stand  on,  with 
his  top-sails  reefed,  keeping  bright  look-outs  ahead,  and  having 
his  courses  in  the  brails,  ready  for  getting  the  tacks  down  to 
claw  off  to  windward,  should  it  prove  to  be  necessary.  With 
this  plan  Mark  was  compelled  to  comply,  there  being  no  appeal 
from  the  decrees  of  the  autocrat  of  the  quarter-deck. 

As  soon  as  the  decision  of  Captain  Crutchely  was  made,  the 
helm  was  put  up,  and  the  ship  kept  off  to  her  course.  It  was 
true,  that  under  double-reefed  top-sails,  and  jib,  which  was  all 
the  canvas  set,  there  was  not  half  the  danger  there  would  have 
been  under  their  former  sail ;  and  when  Mark  took  charge  of 
the  watch,  as  he  did  soon  after,  only  eight  o'clock,  he  was  in 
hopes,  by  means  of  vigilance,  still  to  escape  the  danger.  The 
darkness,  which  was  getting  to  be  very  intense,  was  now  the 
greatest  and  most  immediate  source  of  his  apprehensions.  Could 
he  only  get  a  glimpse  of  the  sea  a  cable' s-length  ahead,  he 
wrould  have  felt  vast  relief;  but  even  that  small  favor  was  denied 
him.  By  the  time  the  captain  and  second  mate  had  turned  in, 
w  hich  each  did  after  going  below  and  taking  a  stiff  glass  of  rum- 
and-water  in  his  turn,  it  was  so  dark  our  young  mate  could  not 
discern  the  combing  of  the  waves  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
ship,  in  any  direction.  This  obscurity  was  owing  to  the  drizzle 
that  filled  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  to  the  clouds  that  covered 
,the  canopy  above  that  lone  and  wandering  ship. 

As  for  Mark,  he  took  his  station  between  the  knight-heads, 
where  he  remained  most  of  the  watch,  nearly  straining  the  eyes 
out  of  his  head,  in  the  effort  to  penetrate  the  gloom,  and  listen- 
ing acutely  to  ascertain  if  he  might  not  catch  some  warning 
roar  of  the  breakers,  that  he  felt  so  intimately  persuaded  must 
be  getting  nearer  and  nearer  at  each  instant.  As  midnight 
approached,  came  the  thought  of  Hillson's  taking  his  place, 
drowsy  and  thick-headed  as  he  knew  he  must  be  at  that  hour. 
At  length  Mark  actually  fancied  he  heard  the  dreaded  sounds ; 
the  warning,  however,  was  not  ahead,  but  well  on  his  starboard 
beam.     This  he  thought  an  ample  justification  for  departing 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  47 

from  his  instructions,  and  he  instantly  issued  an  order  to  put 
the  helm  hard  astarboard,  so  as  to  bring  lh0  vessel  up  to  the 
wind,  on  the  contrary  tack.  Unfortunately,  as  the  result 
proved,  it  now  became  his  imperative  duty  to  report  to  Captain 
Crutchely  what  he  had  done.  For  a  minute  or  two  the  youno- 
man  thought  of  keeping  silence,  to  stand  on  his  present  course, 
to  omit  calling  the  second  mate,  and  to  say  nothing  about  what 
he  had  done,  keeping  the  deck  himself  until  light  should  return. 
*  But  reflection  induced  him  to  shrink  from  the  execution  of  this 
plan,  which  would  have  involved  him  in  a  serious  misunder- 
standing with  both  his  brother  officers,  who  could  not  fail  to 
hear  all  that  had  occurred  in  the -night,  and  who  must  certainly 
know,  each  in  his  respective  sphere,  that  they  themselves  had 
been  slighted.  With  a  slow  step,  therefore,  and  a  heavy  heart, 
Mark  went  into  the  cabin  to  make  his  report,  and  to  give  the 
second  mate  the  customary  call. 

It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  awaken  either  of  those,  who 
slept  under  the  influence  of  potations  as  deep  as  the  night-caps 
taken  by  Captain  Crutchely  and  Mr.  Hillson.  The  latter,  in 
particular,  was  like  a  man  in  a  state  of  lethargy,  and  Mark  had 
half  a  mind  to  leave  him,  and  make  his  condition  an  excuse  for 
not  having  persisted  in  the  call.  But  he  succeeded  in  arousing 
the  captain,  who  soon  found  the  means  to  bring  the  second 
mate  to  a  state  of  semi-consciousness. 

"  Well,  sir,"  cried  the  captain,  as  soon  as  fairly  awake  him- 
self, "  what  now  2" 

"  I  think  I  heard  breakers  abeam,  sir,  and  I  have  hauled  up 
to  the  southward." 

A  grunt  succeeded,  which  Mark  scarce  knew  how  to  inter- 
pret. It  might  mean  dissatisfaction,  or  it  might  mean  surprise. 
As  the  captain,  however,  was  thoroughly  awake,  and  was  mak- 
ing his  preparations  to  come  out  on  deck,  he  thought  that  he 
had  done  all  that  duty  required,  and  he  returned  to  his  own 
post.  The  after-part  of  the  ship  was  now  the  best  situation  tor 
watching,  and  Mark  went  up  on  the  poop,  in  order  to  see  and 
hear  the  better.     No  lower  sail  being  in  the  way,  he  could  look 


48  the    crater: 

ahead  almost  as  well  from  that  position  as  if  he  were  forward  ; 
and  as  for  hearing,  it  was  much  the  best  place  of  the  two,  in 
consequence  of  there  being  no  wash  of  the  sea  directly  beneath 
hhn,  as  was  the  case  when  stationed  between  the  knight-heads. 
To  this  post  he  soon  summoned  Bob  Betts,  who  belonged  to 
his  watch,  and  with  whom  he  had  ever  kept  up  as  great  an  inti- 
macy as  the  difference  in  their  stations  would  allow. 

"  Bob,  your  ears  are  almost  as  good  as  your  eyes,"  said  Mark ; 
"  have  you  heard  nothing  of  breakers  ?" 

"  I  have,  Mr.  Woolston,  and  now  own  I  did  see  something 
that  may  have  been  white  water,  this  arternoon,  while  aloft ; 
but  the  captain  and  second  mate  seemed  so  awarse  to  believing 
in  sich  a  thing,  out  here  in  the  open  Pacific,  that  I  got  to  be 
awarse,  too." 

"  It  was  a  great  fault  in  a  look-out  not  to  let  what  he  had 
seen  be  known,"  said  Mark,  gravely. 

"  I  own  it,  sir;  I  own  how  wrong  I  was,  and  have  been  sorry 
for  it  ever  since.  But  it's  going  right  in  the  wind's  eye,  Mr. 
Woolston,  to  go  ag'in  captain  and  dickey  !" 

"  But  you  now  think  you  have  heard  breakers  —  where 
away  ?" 

"Astarn  first;  then  ahead;  and,  just  as  you  called  me  up 
on  the  poop,  sir,  I  fancied  they  sounded  off  here,  on  the 
weather  bow." 

"  Are  you  serious,  Bob  ?' ' 

"  As  I  ever  was  in  my  life,  Mr.  Mark.  This  oversight  of 
the  arternoon  has  made  me  somewhat  conscientious,  if  I  can 
be  conscientious,  and  my  sight  and  hearing  are  now  both 
wide  awake.  It's  my  opinion,  sir,  that  the  ship  is  in  the 
midst  of  breakers  at  this  instant,  and  that  we  may  go  on  'em  at 
any  moment !" 

"The  devil  it  is!"  exclaimed  Captain  Crutchely,  who  no\i 
appeared  on  the  poop,  and  who  caught  the  last  part  of  Bob 
Betts'  speech.  "  Well,  for  my  part,  I  hear  nothing  out  of  the 
way,  and  I  will  swear  the  keenest-sighted  man  on  earth  can  see 
nothing." 


or,    vulcan's    peak 


49 


These  words  were  scarcely  out  of  the  captain's  mouth,  and 
had  been  backed  by  a  senseless,  mocking  laugh  from  Hillson, 
who  was  still  muzzy,  and  quite  as  much  asleep  as  awake,  when 
the  deep  and  near  roar  of  breakers  was    most    unequivocally 
heard.      It  came  from  to  windward,  too,  and   abeam!     This 
was  proof  that  the  ship  was  actually  among  the  breakers  when 
Mark  hauled  up,  and  that  she  was  now  passing  a  danger  to  lee- 
ward, that  she  must  have  previously  gone  by,  in'  running  down 
on  her  course.     The  captain,  without  waiting  to  consult  with 
his  cool   and   clear-headed  young  mate,  now  shouted  for  all 
hands  to  be  called,  and  to  "  stand  by  to  ware  ship."     These 
orders  came  out  so  fast,  and  in  so  peremptory  a  manner,  that 
remonstrance  was  out  of  the  question,  and  Mark  set  himself  at 
work  to  obey  them,  in  good  earnest.     He  would  have  tacked 
in  preference  to  waring,  and  it  would  have  been  much  wiser  to 
do  so  ;  but  it  was  clearly  expedient  to  get  the  ship  on  the 
other  tack,  and  he  lent  all  his  present  exertions  to  the  attain- 
ment of  that  object.     Waring  is  much  easier  done  than  tack- 
ing, certainly  ;  when  it  does  not  blow  too  fresh,  and  there  is 
not  a  dangerous  sea  on,  no  nautical  manoeuvre  can  be  more 
readily  effected,  though  room  is  absolutely  necessary  to  its  suc- 
cess.    This  room  was  now  wanting.     Just  as  the  ship  had  got 
dead  before  the  wind,  and  was  flying  away  to  leeward,  short  as 
was  the  sail  she  was  under,  the  atmosphere  seemed  to  be  sud- 
denly filled   with   a   strange    light,  the  sea  became   white  ah 
around  them,  and  a  roar  of  tumbling  waters  arose,  that  resem- 
bled the  sound  of  a  small  cataract.     The  ship  was  evidently  in 
the  midst  of  breakers,  and  the  next  moment  she  struck  ! 

The  intense  darkness  of  the  night  added  to  the  horrors  of 
that  awful  moment.  Nevertheless,  the  effect  was  to  arouse  all 
that  there  was  of  manliness  and  seamanship  in  Captain  Crutch- 
ely,  who,  from  that  instant,  appeared  to  be  himself  again.  His 
orders  were  issued  coolly,  clearly,  and  promptly,  and~they  were 
obeyed  as  experienced  mariners  will  work  at  an  instant  like 
that.  The  sails  were  all  clewed  up,  and  the  heaviest  of  them 
were  furled.  Hillson  was  ordered  to  clear  away  an  anchor, 
3 


50  the    crater: 

while  Mark  was  attending  to  the  canvas.  In  the*  mean  time, 
the  captain  watched  the  movements  of  the  ship.  He  had 
dropped  a  lead  alongside,  and  by  that  he  ascertained  that  they 
were  still  beating  ahead.  The  thumps  were  not  very  hard,  and 
the  white  water  was  soon  left  astern,  none  having  washed  on 
deck.  All  this  was  so  much  proof  that  the  place  on  which  they 
had  struck  must  have  had  nearly  water  enough  to  float  the  vessel 
^a  fact  that  the  lead  itself  corroborated.  Fifteen  feet  aft  was  all 
the  Rancocus  wanted,  in  her  actual  trim,  and  the  lead  showed  a 
good  three  fathoms,  at  times.  It  was  when  the  ship  settled  in 
the  troughs  of  the  sea  that  she  felt  the  bottom.  Satisfied  that 
his  vessel  was  likely  to  beat  over  the  present  difficulty,  Captain 
Crutchely  now  gave  all  his  attention  to  getting  her  anchored  as 
near  the  reef,  and  to  leeward  of  it,  as  possible.  The  instant  she 
went  clear — a  result  he  now  expected  every  moment — he  was 
determined  to  drop  one  of  his  bower  anchors,  and  wait  for  day- 
light, before  he  took  any  further  steps  to  extricate  himself  from 
the  danger  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 

On  the  forecastle  the  work  went  on  badly,  and  thither  Cap- 
tain Crutchely  proceeded.  The  second  mate  scarce  knew  what 
he  was  about,  and  the  captain  took  charge  of  the  duty  himself. 
At  the  same  time  he  issued  an  order  to  Mark  to  get  up  tackles, 
and  to  clear  away  the  launch,  preparatory  to  getting  that  boat 
into  the  water.  Hillson  had  bent  the  cable  wrong,  and  much 
of  the  work  had  to  be  done  over  again.  As  soon  as  men  get 
excited,  as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  when  they  find  serious  blun- 
ders made'  at  critical  moments,  they  are  not  always  discreet. 
The  precise  manner  in  which  Captain  Crutchely  met  with  the 
melancholy  fate  that  befell  him,  was  never  known.  It  is  certain 
that  he  jumped  down  on  the  anchor-stock,  the  anchor  being  a 
cock-bill,  and  that  he  ordered  Mr.  Hillson  off  it.  While 
thus  employed,  and  at  an  instant  when  the  cable  was  pronounced 
bent,  and  the  men  were  in  the  act  of  getting  inboard,  the  ship 
made  a  heavy  roll,  breakers  again  appeared  all  around  her,  the 
white  foam  rising  nearly  to  the  level  of  her  rails.  The-  ^peain 
was  seen  no  more.     There  is  little  doubt  that  he  was  washed 


OR,     VULCAN    S      PEAK.  51 

from  the  anchor-stock,  and  carried  away  to  leeward,  in  the 
midst  of  the  darkness  of  that  midnight  hour. 

Mark  was  soon  apprised  of  the  change  that  had  occurred,  and 
of  the  heavy  responsibility  that  now  rested  on  his  young 
shoulders.  A  feeling  of  horror  and  of  regret  came  over  him,  at 
first ;  but,  understanding  the  necessity  of  self-command,  he 
aroused  himself  at  once  to  do  his  duty,  and  gave  his  orders 
coolly  and  with  judgment.  The  first  step  was  to  endeavor  to 
save  the  captain.  The  jolly-boat  was  lowered,  and  six  men  got 
into  it,  and  passed  ahead  of  the  ship,  with  this  benevolent  de- 
sign. Mark  stood  on  the  bowsprit,  aud  saw  them  shoot  past 
the  bows  of  the  vessel,  and  then,  almost  immediately,  become 
lost  to  view  in  the  gloomy  darkness  of  the  terrible  scene.  The 
men  never  reappeared — a  common  and  unknown  fate  thus 
sweeping  away  Captain  Crutchely  and  six  of  his  best  men,  and 
all,  as  it  might  be,  in  a  single  instant  of  time  ! 

Notwithstanding  these  sudden  and  alarming  losses,  the  work 
went  on.  Hillson  seemed  suddenly  to  become  conscious  of  the 
necessity  of  exertion,  aud  by  giving  his  utmost  attention  to 
hoisting  out  the  launch,  that  boat  was  got  safely  into  the  water. 
By  this  time  the  ship  had  beaten  so  far  over  the  reef,  as  scarcely 
to  touch  at  all,  and  Mark  had  every  thing  ready  for  letting  go 
his  anchors,  the  instant  he  had  reason  to  believe  she  was  in 
water  deep  enough  to  float  her.  The  thumps  grew  lighter  and 
lighter  ;  and  the  lead-line  showed  a  considerable  drift ;  so  much 
so,  indeed,  as  to  require  its  being  hauled  in  and  cast  anew  every 
minute.  Under  all  the  circumstances,  Mark  expected,  each  in- 
stant, to  find  himself  in  four  fathoms'  water,  and  he  intended  to 
let  go  the  anchor  the  moment  he  was  assured  of  that  fact.  In 
the  mean  time,  he  ordered  the  carpenter  to  sound  the  pumps. 
This  was  done,  and  the  ship  was  reported  with  only  the  cus- 
tomary quantity  of  water  in  the  well.  As  yet,  her  bottom  was 
not  injured,  materially  at  least. 

While  .Mark  stood  with  the  lead-line  in  his  hand,  anxiously 
watching  the  drift  of  the  vessel  and  the  depth  of  water,  Hillson 
was  employed  in  placing  provisions  in  the  launch.      There  was 


52  the    crater: 

a  small  amount  of  specie  in  the  cabin,  and  this,  too,  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  launch  ;  every  thing  of  that  sort  being  done  with- 
out Mark's  knowledge,  and  by  the  second  mate's  orders.  The 
former  was  on  the  forecastle,  waiting  the  proper  moment  to 
anchor ;  while  all  of  the  after-part  of  the  ship  was  at  the  mercy 
of  the  second  mate,  and  a  gang  of  the  people,  whom  that  officer 
had  gathered  around  him. 

At  length  Mark  found,  to  his  great  delight,  that  there  were 
four  good  fathoms  of  water  under  the  ship's  bows,  though  she 
still  hung  abaft.  He  ascertained  this  fact  by  means  of  Bob 
Betts,  which  true-hearted  tar  stood  by  him,  with  a  lantern,  by 
swinging  which  low  enough,  the  marks  were  seen  on  the  lead- 
line. Foot  by  foot  the  ship  now  surged  ahead,  the  seas  being 
so  much  reduced  in  size  and  power,  by  the  manner  in  which 
they  had  been  broken  to  windward,  as  not  to  lift  the  vessel 
more  than  an  inch  or  two  at  a  time.  After  waiting  patiently  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  Mark  believed  that  the  proper  time  had 
come,  and  he  gave  the  order  to  "  let  run."  The  seaman 
stationed  at  the  stopper  obeyed,  and  down  went  the  anchor.  It 
happened,  opportunely  enough,  that  the  anchor  was  thus  drop- 
ped, just  as  the  keel  cleared  the  bottom,  and  the  cable  being 
secured  at  a  short  range,  after  forging  ahead  far  enough  to 
tighten  the  latter,  the  vessel  tended.  In  swinging  to  her  an- 
chor, a  roller  came  down  upon  her,  however — one  that  had 
crossed  the  reef  without  breaking — and  broke  on  board  her. 
Mark  afterward  believed  that  the  rush  and  weight  of  this  sea, 
which  did  no  serious  harm,  frightened  the  men  into  the  launch, 
where  Hillson  was  already  in  person,  and  that  the  bo?+.  either 
struck  adrift  under  the  power  of  the  roller,  or  that  the  painter 
was  imprudently  cast  off  in  the  confusion  of  the  moment.  He 
had  got  in  as  far  as  the  windlass  himself,  when  the  sea  came 
aboard  ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  recovered  his  sight  after  the  duck- 
ing  lie  received,  he  caught  a  dim  view  of  the  launch,  driving 
off  to  leeward,  on  the  top  of  a  wave.  Hailing  was  useless,  and 
he  stood  gazing  at  the  helpless  boat  until  it  became  lost,  like 
every  thing  else  that  was  a  hundred  yards  from  the  ship,  in  the 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  53 

gloom  of  night.  Even  then  Mark  was  by  no  means  conscious 
of  the  extent  of  the  calamity  that  had  befallen  him.  It  was 
only  when  he  had  visited  cabin,  steerage,  and  forecastle,  and 
called  the  crew  over  by  name,  that  he  reached  the  grave  fact 
that  there  was  no  one  left  on  board  the  Rancocus  but  Bob  Betts 
and  himself ! 

As  Mark  did  not  know  what  land  was  to  be  found  to  lee- 
ward, he  naturally  enough  hoped  and  expected  that  the  people 
in  both  boats  might  reach  the  shore,  and  be  recovered  in  the 
morning ;  but  he  had  little  expectation  of  ever  seeing  Captain 
Crutchely  again.  The  circumstances,  however,  afforded  him 
little  time  to  reflect  on  these  things,  and  he  gave  his  whole 
attention,  for  the  moment,  to  the  preservation  of  the  ship. 
Fortunately,  the  anchor  held,  and  as  the  wind,  which  had  never 
blown  very  heavily,  sensibly  began  to  lessen,  Mark  was  sanguine 
in  the  belief  it  would  continue  to  hold.  Captain  Crutchely  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  have  the  cable  bitted  at  a  short  range, 
with  a  view  to  keep  it,  as  much  as  possible,  off  the  bottom  ; 
coral  being  known  to  cut  the  hempen  cables  that  were  alto- 
gether in  use,  in  that  day,  almost  as  readily  as  axes.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  bit  of  foresight,  the  Rancocus  lay  at  a  distance 
of  less  than  forty  fathoms  from  her  anchor,  which  Mark  knew 
had  been  dropped  in  four  fathoms  water.  He  now  sounded 
abreast  of  the  main-mast,  and  ascertained  that  the  ship  itself 
was  in  nine  fathoms.  This  was  cheering  intelligence,  and  when 
Bob  Betts  heard  it,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  all  might  yet 
go  well  with  them,  could  they  only  recover  the  six  men  who 
had  gone  to  leeward  in  the  jolly-boat.  The  launch  had  carried 
off  nine  of  their  crew,  which,  previously  to  this  night,  had 
consisted  of  nineteen,  all  told.  This  suggestion  relieved  Mark's 
mind  of  a  load  of  care,  and  he  lent  himself  to  the  measures  nec- 
essary to  the  continued  safety  of  the  vessel,  with  renewed  ani- 
mation and  vigor. 

The  pump-well  was  once  more  sounded,  and  found  to  be 
nearly  empty.  Owing  to  the  nature  of  the  bottom  on  which 
they  had  struck,  the  lightness  of  the  thumps,  or  the  strength  of 


64  the    crater: 

the  ship  herself,  it  was  clear  that  the  vessel  had  thus  far  escaped 
without  any  material  injury.  For  this  advantage  Mark  was 
deeply  grateful,  and  could  he  only  recover  four  or  five  of  the 
people,  and  find  his  way  out  into  open  water,  he  might  hope  to 
live  again  to  see  America,  and  to  be  reunited  to  his  youthful 
and  charming  bride. 

The  weather  continued  to  grow  more  and  more  moderate, 
and  some  time  before  the  day  returned  the  clouds  broke  away, 
the  drizzle  ceased,  and  a  permanent  change  was  to  be  expected. 
Mark  now  found  new  ground  for  apprehensions,  even  in  these 
favorable  circumstances.  He  supposed  that  the  ship  must  feel 
the  influence  of  the  tides,  so  near  the  land,  and  was  afraid  she 
might  tail  the  other  way,  and  thus  be  brought  again  over  the 
reef.  In  order  to  obviate  this  difficulty,' he  and  Bob  set  to 
work  to  get  another  cable  bent,  and  another  anchor  clear  for 
letting  go.  As  all  our  readers  may  not  be  familiar  with  ships, 
it  may  be  well  to  say  that  vessels,  as  soon  as  they  quit  a  coast 
on  a  long  voyage,  unbend  their  cables  and  send  them  all  below, 
out  of  the  way,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  stow  their  an- 
chors, as  it  is  called ;  that  is  to  say,  get  them  from  under  the 
cat-heads,  from  which  they  are  usually  suspended  when  ready  to 
let-go,  and  where  they  are  necessarily  altogether  on  the  outside  of 
the  vessel,  to  positions  more  inboard,  where  they  are  safer  from 
the  force  of  the  waves,  and  better  secured.  As  all  the  anchors 
of  the  Rancocus  had  been  thus  stowed,  until  Captain  Crutchely 
got  the  one  that  was  down,  off  the  gunwale,  and  all  the  cables 
below,  Mark  and  Bob  had  labor  enough  before  them  to  occupy 
several  hours,  in  the  job  thus  undertaken. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  65 


CHAPTER  IV. 

14  Deep  in  the  wave  is  a  coral  grove, 
Where  the  purp.'e  mullet  and  gold-fish  rove, 
Where  the  sea-flower  spreads  its  leaves  of  blue, 
That  never  are  wet  with  falling  dew, 
But  in  bright  and  changeful  beauty  shine, 
Far  down  in  the  green  and  grassy  brine." 

Peeoival. 

Our  young  mate  and  his  sole  assistant,  Bob  Betts,  had  set 
about  their  work  on  the  stream-cable  and  anchor,  the  lightest 
and  most  manageable  of  all  the  ground-tackle  in  the  vessel. 
Both  were  strong  and  active,  and  both  were  expert  in  the  use 
of  blocks,  purchases,  and  handspikes ;  but  the  day  was  seen 
lighting  the  eastern  sky,  and  the  anchor  was  barely  off  the  gun 
wale,  and  ready  to  be  stoppered.  In  the  meanwhile  the  ship  still 
tended  in  the  right  direction,  the  wind  had  moderated  to  a  mere 
royal-breeze,  and  the  sea  had  so  far  gone  down  as  nearly  to  leave 
the  vessel  without  motion.  As  soon  as  perfectly  convinced  of 
the  existence  of  this  favorable  state  of  things,  and  of  its  being 
likely  to  last,  Mark  ceased  to  work,  in  order  to  wait  for  day, 
telling  Bob  to  discontinue  his  exertions  also.  It  was  fully  time, 
for  both  of  those  vigorous  and  strong-handed  men  were  thor- 
oughly fatigued  with  the  toil  of  that  eventful  morning. 

The  reader  may  easily  imagine  with  what  impatience  our  two 
mariners  waited  the  slow  return  of  light.  Each  minute  seemed 
an  hour,  and  it  appeared  to  them  as  if  the  night  was  to  last  for- 
ever. But  the  earth  performed  its  usual  revolution,  and,  by 
degrees,  sufficient  light  was  obtained  to  enable  Mark  and  Bob 
to  examine  the  state  of  things  around  them.  In  order  to  do 
this  the  better,  each  went  into  a  top,  looking  abroad  from  those 


56  T  II  E      C  It  A  T  K  R  I 

elevations  on  the  face  of  the  ocean,  the  different  points  of  the 
reef,  and  all  that  was  then  and  thereto  be  seen.  Mark  went 
up  forward,  while  Bob  ascended  into  the  main-top.  The  dis- 
tance between  them  was  so  small,  that  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
conversing,  which  they  coutinued  to  do,  as  was  natural  enough 
to  men  in  their  situation. 

The  first  look  that  each  of  our  mariners  bestowed,  after  ho 
was  in  his  top,  was  to  leeward,  which  being  to  the  westward, 
was  of  course  yet  in  the  darkest  point  of-  the  horizon.  They 
expected  to  obtain  a  sight  of  at  least  one  island,  and  that  quite 
near  to  them,  if  not  of  a  group.  But  no  land  appeared  !  It 
is  true,  that  it  was  still  too  dark  to  be  certain  of  a  fact  of  this 
sort,  though  Mark  felt  quite  assured  that  if  land  was  finally 
seen,  it  must  be  of  no  great  extent,  and  quite  low.  He  called 
to  Bob,  to  ascertain  what  he  thought  of  appearances  to  leeward, 
his  reputation  as  a  look-out  being  so  great. 

"  Wait  a  few  minutes,  sir,  till  we  get  a  bit  more  day,"  an- 
swered his  companion.  "  There  is  a  look  on  the  water,  about 
a  league  off  here  on  the  larboard  quarter,  that  seems  as  if  some- 
thing would  come  out  of  it.  But,  one  thing  can  be  seen  plain 
enough,  Mr.  Mark,  and  that's  the  breakers.  There's  a  precious 
line  on  'em,  and  that,  too,  one  within  another,  as  makes  it  won 
derful  how  we  ever  got  through  'em  as  well  as  we  did  !" 

This  was  true  enough,  the  light  on  the  ocean  to  windward 
being  now  sufficient  to  enable  the  men  to  sec,  in  that  direction, 
to  a  considerable  distance.  It  was  that  solemn  hour  in  the 
morning  when  objects  first  grow  distinct,  ere  they  are  touched 
with  the  direct  rays  from  the  sun,  and  when  every  thing  ap- 
pears as  if  coming  to  us  fresh  and  renovated  from  the  hands  of 
the  Creator.  The  sea  had  so  far  gone  down  as  to  render  the 
breakers  much  less  formidable  to  the  eye,  than  when  it  was 
blowing  more  heavily  ;  but  this  very  circumstance  made  it  im 
possible  to  mistake  their  positions.  In  the  actual  state  of  the 
ocean,  it  was  certain  that  wherever  water  broke,  there  must  be 
rocks  or  shoals  beneath  ;  whereas,  in  a  blow,  the  combing  of 
an  ordinary  sea  might  be  mistaken  for  the  white  water  of  some 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  57 

hidden  danger.  Many  of  the  rocks,  however,  lay  so  low,  that 
the  heavy,  sluggish  rollers  that  came  undulating  along,  scarce 
did  more  than  show  faint,  feathery  lines  of  white,  to  indicate 
the  character  of  the  places  across  which  they  were  passing. 
Such  was  now  the  case  with  the  reef  over  which  the  ship  had 
beaten,  the  position  of  which  could  hardly  have  been  ascer- 
tained, or  its  danger  discovered,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile. 
Others,  again,  were  of  a  very  different  character,  the  water  still 
tumbling  about  them  like  so  many  little  cataracts.  This  variety 
was  owing  to  the  greater  depth  at  which  some  of  the  rocks  lay 
than  others. 

As  to  the  number  of  the  reefs,  and  the  difficulty  in  getting 
through  them,  Bob  was  right  enough.  It  often  happens  that 
there  is  an  inner  and  an  outer  reef  to  the  islands  of  the  Pacific, 
particularly  to  those  of  coral  formation  ;  but  Mark  began  to 
doubt  whether  there  was  any  coral  at  all  in  the  place  where  the 
Rancocus  lay,  in  consequence  of  the  entire  want  of  regularity 
in  the  position  of  these  very  breakers.  They  were  visible  in 
all  directions  ;  not  in  continuous  lines,  but  in  detached  parts  ; 
one  lying  within  another,  as  Bob  had  expressed  it,  until  the 
eye  could  not  reach  their  outer  limits.  How  the  ship  had  got 
so  completely  involved  within  their  dangerous  embraces,  with- 
out going  to  pieces  on  a  dozen  of  the  reefs,  was  to  him  matter 
of  wonder ;  though  it  sometimes  happens  at  sea,  that  dangers 
are  thus  safely  passed  in  darkness  and  fog,  that  no  man  would 
be  bold  enough  to  encounter  in  broad  daylight,  and  with  a  full 
consciousness  of  their  hazards.  Such,  then,  had  been  the  sort 
of  miracle  by  which  the  Rancocus  had  escaped  ;  though  it 
was  no  more  easy  to  see  how  she  was  to  be  got  out  of  her 
present  position,  than  it  was  to  see  how  she  had  got  into  it. 
Bob  was  the  first  to  make  a  remark  on  this  particular  part  of 
the  subject. 

"  It  will  need  a  reg'lar  branch  here,   Mr.   Mark,   to   carry 
the  old  Rancocus  clear  of  all  them  breakers,  to  sea  again," 
he  cried.     "  Our  Delaware  banks  is  just  so  many  fools  to  'em, 
sir  !" 
3* 


58  the    crater: 

"It  is  a  most  serious  position  for  a  vessel  to  be  in,  Bob," 
answered  Mark,  sighing — "nor  do  I  see  how  we  are  ever  to 
get  clear  of  it,  even  should  we  get  back  men  enough  to  handle 
the  ship." 

"  I'm  quite  of  your  mind,  sir,"  answered  Bob,  taking  out 
his  tobacco-box,  and  helping  himself  to  a  quid.  "  Nor  would 
I  be  at  all  surprised,  should  there  turn  out  to  be  a  bit  of  land 
to  leeward,  if  you  and  I  was  to  Robinson  Crusoe  it  for  the  rest 
of  our  days.  My  good  mother  was  always  most  awarse  to  my 
following  the  seas  on  account  of  that  very  danger  ;  most  es- 
pecially from  a  fear  of  the  savages  from  the  islands  round 
about." 

"  We  will  look  for  our  boats,"  Mark  gravely  replied,  the 
image  of  Bridget,  just  at  that  instant,  appearing  before  his 
mind  with  a  painful  distinctness. 

Both  now  turned  their  eyes  again  to  leeward,  the  first  direct 
rays  of  the  sun  beginning  to  illumine  the  surface  of  the  ocean  in 
that  quarter.  Something  like  a  misty  cloud  had  been  settled  on 
the  water,  rather  less  than  a  league  from  the  ship,  in  the  western 
board,  and  had  hitherto  prevented  a  close  examination  in  that 
part  of  the  horizon.  The  power  of  the  sun.  however,  almost 
instantly'  dispersed  it,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  Bob  fancied 
he  did  discover  something  like  land.  Mark,  however,  could 
not  make  it  out,  until  he  had  gone  up  into  the  cross-trees,  when 
he,  too,  got.  a  glimpse  of  what,  under  all  the  circumstances,  he 
did  not  doubt  was  either  a  portion  of  the  reef  that  rose  above 
the  water,  or  was  what  might  be  termed  a  low,  straggling 
island.  Its  distance  from  the  ship,  they  estimated  at  rather 
more  than  two  leagues. 

Both  Mark  and  Bob  remained  aloft  near  an  hour  longer,  or 
until  they  had  got  the  best  possible  view  of  which  their  posi- 
tion would  allow,  of  every  thing  around  the  ship.  Bob  went 
down,  and  took  a  glass  up  to  his  officer,  Mark  sweeping  the 
whole  horizon  with  it,  in  the  anxious  wish  to  make  out  some- 
thing cheering  in  connection  with  the  boats. .  The  drift  of  these 
unfortunate  craft  must  have  been  toward  the  land,  and  that  hf 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  59 

examined  with  the  utmost  care.  Aided  by  the  glass,  and  his 
elevation,  he  got  a  tolerable  view  of  the  spot,  which  certainly 
promised  as  little  in  the  way  of  supplies  as  any  other  bit  of 
naked  reef  he  had  ever  seen.  The  distance,  however,  was  so 
great  as  to  prevent  his  obtaining  any  certain  information  on 
that  point.  One  thing,  however,  he  did  ascertain,  as  he  feared, 
with  considerable  accuracy.  After  passing  the  glass  along  the 
whole  of  that  naked  rock,  he  could  see  nothing  on  it  in  motion. 
Of  birds,  there  were  a  good  many ;  more,  indeed,  than  from 
the  extent  of  the  visible  reef  he  might  have  expected  ;  but  no 
signs  of  man  could  be  discovered.  As  the  ocean,  in  all  direc- 
tions, was  swept  by  the  glass,  and  this  s.  U£l€  fragment  of  a  reef, 
which  was  less  than  a  mile  in  length,  was  the  only  thing  that 
even  resembled  land,  the  melancholy  conviction  began  to  force 
itself  on  Mark  and  Bob,  that  all  their  shipmates  had  perished  ! 
They  might  have  perished  in  one  of  several  ways  ;  as  the  naked 
reef  did  not  lie  precisely  to  leeward  of  the  ship,  the  boats  might 
have  driven  by  it,  in  the  deep  darkness  of  the  past  night,  and 
gone  far  away  out  of  sight  of  the  spot  where  they  had  left  the 
vessel,  long  ere  the  return  of  day.  There  was  just  the  possibili- 
ty that  the  spars  of  the  ship  might  be  seen  by  the  wanderers,  if 
they  were  still  living,  and  the  faint  hope  of  their  regaining  the 
vessel,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  by  means  of  their  oars.  It 
was,  however,  more  probable  that  the  boats  had  capsized  in 
some  of  the  numerous  fragments  of  breakers,  that  were  visible 
even  in  the  present  calm  condition  of  the  ocean,  and  that  all  in 
them  had  been  drowned.  The  best  swimmer  must  have  hope- 
lessly perished,  in  such  a  situation,  and  in  such  a  night,  unless 
carried  by  a  providential  interference  to  the  naked  rock  to  lee- 
ward. That  no  one  was  living  on  that  reef,  the  glass  pretty 
plainly  proved. 

Mark  and  Bob  Betts  descended  to  the  deck,- after  passing  a 
Long  time  aloft  making  their  observations.  Both  were  pretty 
weil  assured  that  their  situation  was  almost  desperate,  though 
each  was  too  resolute,  and  too  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  a   seaman,  to  give   up   while  there  was  the  smallest 


60  the    crater: 

shadow  of  hope.  As  it  was  now  getting  past  the  usual  break- 
fast hour,  some  cold  meat  was  got  out,  and,  for  the  first  time 
since  Mark  was  transferred  to  the  cabin,  they  sat  down  on  the 
windlass  and  ate  the  meal  together.  A  little,  however,  satisfied 
men  in  their  situation  ;  Bob  Betts  fairly  owning  that  he  had  no 
appetite,  though  so  notorious  at  the  ship's  beef  and  a  biscuit,  as 
to  be  often  the  subject  of  his  messmates'  jokes.  That  morning 
even  he  could  eat  but  little,  though  both  felt  it  to  be  a  duty 
they  owed  to  themselves  to  take  enough  to  sustain  nature.  It 
was  while  these  two  forlorn  and  desolate  mariners  sat  there  on 
the  windlass,  picking,  as  it  might  -be,  morsel  by  morsel,  that 
they  first  entered  into  a  full  and  frank  communication  with 
each  other,  touching  the  realities  of  their  present  situation. 
After  a  good  deal  had  passed  between  them,  Mark  suddenly 
asked — 

"  Do  you  think  it  possible,  Bob,  for  us  two  to  take  care  of 
the  ship,  should  we  even  manage  to  get  her  into  deep  water 
again  ?" 

"  '^  ell,  that  is  not  so  soon  answered, -Mr.  Woolston,"  re- 
turned Bob.  "  We're  both  on  us  stout,  and  healthy,  and  of 
good  courage,  Mr.  Mark ;  but  'twould  be  a  desperate  long  way 
for  two  hands  to  carry  a  wessel  of  four  hundred  tons,  to  take 
the  old  'Oocus  from  this  here  anchorage,  all  the  way  to  the 
coast  of  America ;  and  short  of  the  coast  there's  no  ra'al  hope 
for  us.  However,  sir,  that  is  a  subject  that  need  give  us  no 
consarn." 

"  I  do  not  see  that,  Bob  ;  we  shall  have  to  do  it,  unless  we 
fall  in  with  something  at  sea,  could  we  only  once  get  the  vessel 
out  from  among  these  reefs." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir — could  we  get  her  out  from  among  these  reefs, 
indeed  !  There's  the  rub,  Mr.  Woolston  ;  but  I  fear  'twill 
never  be  '  rub  and  go."1 " 

"You  think,  then,  we  are  too  fairly  in  for  it,  ever  to  get  the 
ship  clear?" 

"  Such  is  just  my  notion,  Mr.  Woolston,  on  that  subject,  and 
I've  no  wish  to  keep  it  a  secret.     In  my  judgment,  was  poor 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  61 

Captain  Crutchely  alive  and  back  at  bis  post,  and  all  bands  just 
as  they  was  tbis  time  twenty-four  hours  since,  and  the  ship 
where  she  is  now,  that  here  she  would  have  to  stay.  Nothing 
short  of  kedging  can  ever  take  the  wessel  clear  of  the  reefs  to 
windward  on  us,  and  man-of-war  kedging  could  hardly  do  it, 
then." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  you  say  this,"  answered  Mark,  gloomily, 
"though  I  feared  as  much  myself." 

"  Men  is  men,  sir,  and  you  can  get  no  more  out  on  'em  than 
is  in  'em.  I  looked  well  at  these  reefs,  sir,  when  aloft,  and 
they're  what  I  call  as  hopeless  affairs  as  ever  I  laid  eyes  on.  If 
they  lay  in  any  sort  of  way,  a  body  might  have  some  little 
chance  of  getting  through  'em,  but  they  don't  lay,  no  how. 
'Twould  be  '  luff'  and  '  keep  her  away'  every  half  minute  or 
so,  should  we  attempt  to  beat  up  among  'em ;  and  who  is  there 
aboard  her  to  brace  up,  and  haul  aft,  and  ease  off,  and  to  swing 
yards  sich  as  our'n  ?" 

"  I  was  not  altogether  without  the  hope,  Bob,  of  getting  the 
ship  into  olear  water ;  though  I  have  thought  it  would  be  done 
with  difficulty.  I  am  still  of  opinion  we  had  better  try  it,  for 
the  alternative  is  a  very  serious  matter." 

"  I  don't  exactly  understand  what  you  mean  by  attorney- 
tives,  Mr.  Mark ;  though  it's  little  harm,  or  little  good  that  any 
attorney  can  do  the  old  'Cocus,  now  !  But,  as  for  getting  this 
craft  through  them  reefs,  to  windward,  and  into  clear  water,  it 
surpasses  the  power  of  man.  Did  you  just  notice  the  tide- 
ripples,  Mr.  Mark,  when  you  was  up  in  the  cross-trees  ?" 

"  1  saw  them,  Bob,  and  am  .fully  aware  of  the  difficulty  of 
running  as  large  a  vessel  as  this  among  them,  even  with  a  full 
crew.  But  what  will  become  of  us,  unless  we  get  the  ship  into 
open  water  ?" 

"  Sure  enough,  sir.  I  see  no  other  hope  for  us,  Mr.  Mark, 
but  to  Robinson  Crusoe  it  awhile,  until  our  times  come  ;  or, 
till  the  Lord,  in  his  marcy,  shall  see  fit  to  have  us  picked  up." 

"  Robinson  Crusoe  it !"  repeated  Mark,  smiling  at  the  quaint- 
ness  of  Bob's  expression,  which  the  well-meaning  fellow  uttered 


62  the    crates: 

in  all  simplicity,  and  in  perfect  good  faith — "  where  are  we  to 
find  even  an  uninhabited  island,  on  which  to  dwell  after  the 
mode  of  Robinson  Crusoe  ?" 

"There's  a  bit  of  a  reef  to  leeward,  where  I  dare  say  a  man 
might  pick  up  a  living,  arter  a  fashion,"  answered  Bob,  coolly  ; 
"  then,  here  is  the  ship." 

"  And  how  long  would  a  hempen  cable  hold  the  ship  in  a 
place  like  this,  where  every  time  the  vessel  lifts  to  a  sea,  the 
clench  is  chafing  on  a  rock?  No,  no,  Bob — the  ship  cannot 
long  remain  where  she  is,  depend  on  that.  We  must  try  and 
pass  down  to  leeward,  if  we  cannot  beat  the  ship  through  the 
dangers  to  windward." 

"  Harkee,  Mr.  Mark  ;  I  thought  this  matter  over  in  my  mind, 
while  we  was  aloft,  and  this  is  my  idea  as  to  what  is  best  to  be 
done,  for  a  start.  There's  the  dingui  on  the  poop,  in  as  good 
order  as  ever  a  boat  was.  She  will  easily  carry  two  on  us,  and, 
on  a  pinch,  she  might  carry  half  a  dozen.  Now,  my  notion  is 
to  get  the  dingui  into  the  water,  to  put  a  breaker  and  some 
grub  in  her,  and  to  pull  down  to  that  bit  pf  a  reef,  and  have  a 
survey  of  it.  I'll  take  the  sculls  going  down,  and  you  can  keep 
heaving  the  lead,  by  way  of  finding  out  if  there  be  such  a  thing 
as  a  channel  in  that  direction.  If  the  ship  is  ever  to  be  moved 
by  us  two,  it  must  be  by  going  to  leeward,  and  not  by  attempt- 
ing to.  turn  up  agin  wind  and  tide  among  them  'ere  rocks,  out 
here  to  the  eastward.  No,  sir ;  let  us  take  the  dingui,  and  sur- 
wey  the  reef,  and  look  for  our  shipmates ;  a'ter  which  we  can 
best  tell  what  to  undertake,  with  some  little  hope  of  succeeding. 
The  weather  seems  settled,  and  the  sooner  we  are  off  the 
better." 

This  proposal  struck  Mark's  young  mind  as  plausible,  as  well 
as  discreet.  To  recover  even  a  single  man  would  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage, and  he  had  lingering  hopes  that  some  of  the  people 
might  yet  be  found  on  the  reef.  Then  Bob's  idea  about  getting 
the  ship  through  the  shoal  water,  by  passing  to  leeward,  in 
preference  to  making  the  attempt  against  the  wind,  was  a  sound 
one  ;  and,  on  a  little  reflection,  he  was  well  enough  disposed  to 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  63 

acquiesce  in  it.     Accordingly,  when  they  quitted  the  windlass, 
they  both  set  about  putting  this  project  in  execution. 

The  dingui  was  no  great  matter  of  a  boat,  and  they  had  not 
much  difficulty  in  getting  it  into  the  water.  First,  by  slinging,  it 
was  swayed  high  enough  to  clear  the  rail,  when  Bob  bore  it  over 
the  side,  and  Mark  lowered  away.  It  was  found  to  be  tight, 
Captain  Crutchely  having  kept  it  half  full  of  "water  ever  since 
they  got  into  the  Pacific,  and  in  other  respects  it  was  in  good 
order.  It  was  even  provided  with  a  little  sail,  which  did  very 
well  before  the  wind.  While  Bob  saw  to  provisioning  the 
boat,  and  filling  its  breakers  with  fresh  water,  Mark  attended  to 
another  piece  of  duty  that  he  conceived  to  be  of  the  last  im- 
portance. The  Rancocus  carried  several  guns — an  armament 
prepared  to  repel  the  savages  of  the  sandal-wood  islands,  and 
these  guns  were  all  mounted,  and  in  their  places.  There  were 
two  old-fashioned  sixes,  and  eight  twelve-pound  carronades. 
The  first  made  smart  reports,  when  properly  loaded.  Our 
young  mate  now  got  the  keys  of  the  magazine,  opened  it,  and 
brought  forth  three -cartridges,  with  which  he  loaded  three  of 
the  guns.  These  guns  he  fired,  with  short  intervals  between" 
them,  in  hopes  that  the  reports  would  be  carried  to  the  ears  of 
some  of  the  missing  people,  and  encourage  them  to  make  every 
effort  to  return.  The  roar  of  artillery  sounded  strangely  enough 
in  the  midst  of  that  vast  solitude  ;  and  Bob  Betts,  who  had 
often  been  in  action,  declared  that  he  was  much  affected  by  it. 
As  no  immediate  result  was  expected  from  the  firing  of  these 
guns,  Mark  had  no  sooner  discharged  them,  than  he  joined 
Betts,  who,  by  this  time,  had  every  thing  ready,  ami  prepared 
to  quit  the  ship.  Before  he  did  this,  however,  he  made  an 
anxious  and  careful  survey  of  the  weather,  it  being  all-impor- 
tant to  be  certain  no  change  in  this  respect  was  likely  to  occur 
in  his  absence.  All  the  omens  were  favorable,  and  Bob  report- 
ing for  the  third  time  that  every  thing  was  ready,  the  young 
man  went  over  the  side,  and  descended,  with  a  reluctance  he 
could  not  conceal,  into  the  boat.  Certainly,  it  was  no  trifling 
matter  fur  men  in  the  situation  of  our  two  mariners,  to  leave 


64  thecrater: 

their  vessel  all  alone,  to  be  absent  for  a  large  portion  of  the  day. 
It  was  to  be  done,  however ;  though  it  was  done  reluctantly, 
and  not  without  many  misgivings,  in  spite  of  the  favorable  signs 
in  the  atmosphere. 

When  Mark  had  taken  his  seat  in  the  dingui,  Bob  let  go  his 
hold  of  the  ship,  and  set  the  sail.  The  breeze  was  light,  and 
fair  to  go,  though  it  was  by  no  means  so  certain  how  it  would 
serve  them  on  the  return.  Previously  to  quitting  the  ship, 
Mark  had  taken  a  good  look  at  the  breakers  to  leeward,  in 
order  to  have  some  general  notion  of  the  course  best  to  steer, 
and  he  commenced  his  little  voyage,  but  entirely  without  a  plan 
for  his  own  government  The  breakers  were  quite  as  numerous 
to  leeward  as  to  windward,  but  the  fact  of  there  being  so  many 
of  them  made  smooth  water  between  them.  A  boat,  or  a  ship, 
that  was  once  fairly  a  league  or  so  within  the  broken  lines  of 
rocks,  was  like  a  vessel  embayed,  the  rollers  of  the  open  ocean 
expending  their  force  on  the  outer  reefs,  and  coming  in  much 
reduced  in  size  and  power.  Still,  the  uneasy  ocean,  even  in  its 
state  of  rest,  is  formidable  at  the  points  where  its  waters  meet 
with  rocks,  or  sands,  and  the  breakers  that  did  exist,  even  as 
much  embayed  as  was  the  dingui,  were  serious  matters  for  so 
small  a  boat  to  encounter.  It  was  necessary,  consequently,  to 
steer  clear  of  them,  lest  they  should  capsize,  or  fill,  this,  the  only 
craft  of  the  sort  that  now  belonged  to  the  vessel,  the  loss  of 
which  would  be  a  most  serious  matter,  indeed. 

The  dingui  slided  away  from  the  ship  with  a  very  easy  move- 
ment. There  was  just  about  as  much  wind  as  so  small  a  craft 
needed,  and  Bob  soon  began  to  sound,  Mark  preferring  to  steer. 
It  was,  however,  by  no  means  easy  to  sound  in  so  low  a  boat, 
while  in  such  swift  motion ;  and  Bob  was  compelled  to  give  it 
up.  As  they  should  be  obliged  to  return  with  the  oars,  Mark 
observed  that  then  he  would  feel  his  way  back  to  the  ship. 
Nevertheless,  the  few  casts  of  the  lead  that  did  succeed,  satisfied 
our  mariners  that  there  was  much  more  than  water  enough  for 
the  Rancocus,  between  the  reefs.  On  them,  doubtless,  it  would 
turn  out  to  be  different. 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  65 

Mark  met  with  more  difficulty  than  he  had  anticipated  in 
keeping  the  dingui  out  of  the  "breakers.  So  very  smooth  was 
the  sort  of  bay  he  was  in— a  bay  by  means  of  the  reefs  to  wind- 
ward, though  no  rock  in  that  direction  rose  above  the  surface 
of  the  sea— so  very  smooth,  then,  was  the  sort  of  bay  he  was 
in,  that  the  water  did  not  break,  in  many  places,  except  at  long 
intervals ;  and  then  only  when  a  roller  heavier  than  common 
found  its  way  in  from  the  outer  ocean.  As  a  consequence,  the 
breakers  that  did  suddenly  show  themselves  from  a  cause  like 
this,  were  the  heaviest  of  all,  and  the  little  dingui  would  have 
fared  badly  had  it  been  caught  on  a  reef,  at  the  precise  moment 
when  such  a  sea  tumbled  over  in  foam.  This  accident  was  very 
near  occurring  once  or  twice,  but  it  was  escaped,  more  by  prov- 
idential interference  than  by  any  care  or  skill  in  the  adven- 
turers. 

It  is  very  easy  to  imagine  the  intense  interest  with  which  our 
two  mariners  drew  near  to  the  visible  reef.     Their  observations 
from  the  cross-trees  of  the  ship,  had  told  them  this  was  all  the 
land  anywhere  very  near  them,  and  if  they  did  not  find  their 
lost  shipmates  here,  they  ought  not  to  expect  to  find  them  at 
all.     Then  this  reef,  or  island,  was  of  vast  importance  in  other 
points  of  view.     It  might  become  their  future  home  ;  perhaps 
for  years,  possibly  for  life.       The  appearances  of  the  sunken 
reefs,  over  and  among  which  he  had  just  passed,  had  greatly 
shaken  Mark's  hope  of  ever  getting  the  ship  from  among  them".  ' 
and  he  even  doubted  the  possibility  of  bringing  her  down,  be- 
fore the  wind,  to  the  place  where    he  was  then  going.    '  All 
these    considerations,   which    began  to    press    more  and    more 
painfully  on  his  mind,  each  foot  as  he  advanced,  served  to  in- 
crease the  intensity  of  the  interest  with  which  he.  noted  every 
appearance  on,  or  about,  the  reef,  or  island,  that  he  was  now 
approaching.  ^  Bob  had  less  feeling  on  the  subject.      lie  had 
less    imagination,    and   foresaw    consequences  and    effects  less 
vividly  than  his  officer,  and  was  more  accustomed  to  the  vicis- 
situdes of  a  seaman's  life.      Then  he  had  left  no  virgin  bride  at 
home,  to  look  for  his  return  ;  aud  had,  moreover,  made  up  his 


bb  thecrater: 

mind  that  it  was  the  will  of  Providence  that  he  and  Mark  were 
to  "Robinson  Crusoe  it"  awhile  on  "that  bit  of  a  reef." 
Whether  they  should  ever  be  rescued  from  so  desolate  a  place, 
was  a  point  on  which  he  had  not  yet  begun  to  ponder. 

The  appearances  were  any  thing  but  encouraging,  as  the  din- 
gui  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  naked  part  of  the  reef.  The 
opinions  formed  of  this  place,  by  the  examination  made  from 
the  cross-trees,  turned  out  to  be  tolerably  accurate,  in  several 
particulars.  It  was  just  about  a  mile  in  length,  while  its  breadth 
varied  from  half  a  mile  to  less  than  an  eighth  of  a  mile.  On 
its  shores,  the  rock  along  most  of  the  reef  rose  but  a  very  few 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  though  at  its  eastern,  or  the 
weather  extremity,  it  might  have  been  of  more  than  twice  the 
usual  height  ;  its  length  lay  nearly  east  and  west.  In  the  cen- 
tre of  this  island,  however,  there  was  a  singular  formation  of 
the  rock,  which  appeared  to  rise  to  'an  elevation  of  something 
like  sixty  or  eighty  feet,  making  a  sort  of  a  regular  circular 
mound  of  that  height,  which  occupied  no  small  part  of  the 
widest  portion  of  the  island.  Nothing  like  tree,  shrub,  or 
grass,  was  visible,  as  the  boat  drew  near  enough  to  render  such 
things  apparent.  Of'  aquatic  birds  there  were  a  good  many ; 
though  even  they  did  not  appear  in  the  numbers  that  are  some- 
times seen  in  the  vicinity  of  uninhabited  islands.  About  cer- 
tain large  naked  rocks,  at  no  great  distance,  however,  from  the 
principal  reef,  they  were  hovering  in  thousands. 

At  length  the  little  dingui  glided  in  quite  near  to  the  island. 
Mark  was  at  first  surprised  to  find  so  little  surf  beating  against 
even  its  weather  side,  but  this  was  accounted  for  by  the  great 
number  of  the  reefs  that  lay  for  miles  without  it ;  and,  partic- 
ularly, by  the  fact  that  one  line  of  rock  stretched  directly  across 
this  weather  end,  distant  from  it  only  two  cables'  lengths,  form- 
ing a  pretty  little  sheet  of  perfectly  smooth  water  between  it 
and  the  island.  Of  course,  to  do  this,  the  line  of  reef  just  men- 
tioned must  come  very  near  the  surface  ;  as  in  fact  was  the  case, 
the  rock  rising^ so  high  as  to  be  two  or  three  feet  out  of  water 
on  the  ebb,  though  usually  submerged  on  the  flood.     The  bo'at 


or,    Vulcan's    peak.  67 

was  obliged  to  pass  round  one  end  of  this  last-named  reef, 
where  there  was  deep  water,  and  then  to  haul  its  wind  a  little 
in  order  to  reach  the  shore. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  sensations  with  which 
Mark  first  landed.  In  approaching  the  place,  both  he  and  Bob 
had  strained  their  eyes  in  the  hope  of  seeing  some  proof  that 
their  shipmates  had  been  there  ;  but  no  discovery  rewarded 
their  search.  Nothing  was  seen,  on  or  about  the  island,  to  fur- 
nish the  smallest  evidence  that  either  of  the  boats  had  touched  it. 
Mark  found  that  he  was  treading  on  naked  rock  when  he  had 
landed,  though  the  surface  was  tolerably  smooth.  The  rock 
itself  was  of  a  sort  to  which  he  was  unaccustomed  ;  and  he  be- 
gan to  suspect,  what,  in  truth,  turned  out  on  further  investiga- 
tion to  be  the  fact,  that  instead  of  being  on  a  reef  of  coral,  he 
was  on  one  of  purely  volcanic  origin.  The  utter  nakedness  of 
the  rock  both  surprised  and  grieved  him.  On  the  reefs,  in 
every  direction,  considerable  quantities  of  sea-weed  had  lodged, 
temporarily  at  least ;  but  none  of  it  appeared  to  have  found  its 
way  to  this  particular  place.  Nakedness  and  dreariness  were 
the  two  words  which  best  described  that  island  ;  the  only  inter- 
ruption to  its  solitude  and  desolation  being  'occasioned  by 
the  birds,  which  now  came  screaming  and  flying  above  the 
heads  of  the  intruders,  showing,  both  by  their  boldness  and 
their  cries,  that  they  were  totally  unacquainted  wTith  men. 

The  mound,  in  the  centre  of  the  reef,  was  an  object  too  con- 
spicuous to  escape  attention,  and  our  adventurers  approached  it 
at  once,  with  the  expectation  of  getting  a  better  look-out  from 
its  summit,  than  that  they  had  on  the  lower  level  of  the  surface 
of  the  ordinary  reef.  Thither,  then,  they  proceeded,  accompa- 
nied by  a  large  flight  of  the  birds.  Neither  Mark  nor  Bob, 
however,  had  neglected  to  turn  his  eyes  toward  the  now  distant 
ship,  which  was  apparently  riding  at  its  anchor,  in  exactly  the 
condition  in  which  it  had  been  left,  half  an  hour  before.  In 
that  quarter  all  seemed  right,  and  Mark  led  the  way  to  the 
mount,  with  active  and  eager  steps. 

On  reaching  the  foot-  of  this  singular  elevation,  our  adveu- 


68  the    crater: 

turers  found  it  would  not  be  so  easy  a  matter  as  they  had 
fancied,  to  ascend  it.  Unlike  the  rest  of  the  reef  which  they 
had  yet  seen,  it  appeared  to  he  composed  of  a  crumbling  rock, 
and  this  so  smooth  and  perpendicular  as  to  render  it  extremely 
difficult  to  get  up.  A  place  was  found  at  length,  however,  and, 
by  lending  each  other  a  hand,  Mark  and  Bob  finally  got  on  the 
summit.  Here  a  surprise  was  ready  for  them,  that  drew  an  ex- 
clamation from  each,  the  instant  the  sight  broke  upon  him. 
Instead  of  finding  an  elevated  bit  of  table-rock,  as  had  been  ex- 
pected, a  circular  cavity  existed  within,  that  Mark  at  once  rec- 
ognized to  be  the  extinct  crater  of  a  volcano  !  After  the  first 
astonishment  was  over,  Mark  made  a  close  examination  of  the 
place. 

The  mound,  or  barrier  of  lava  and  scoriae  that  composed  the 
outer  wall  of  this  crater,  was  almost  mathematically  circular. 
Its  inner  precipice  was,  in  most  places,  absolutely  perpendicular, 
though  overhanging  in  a  few ;  there  being  but  two  or  three 
spots  where  an  active  man  could  descend  in  safety.  The  area 
within  might  contain  a  hundred  acres,  while  the  wall  preserved 
a  very  even  height  of  about  sixty  feet,  falling  a  little  below  this 
at  the  leeward  side,  where  there  existed  one  narrow  hole,  or 
passage,  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  crater;  a  sort  of 
gateway,  by  which  to  enter  and  quit  the  cavity.  This  passage 
had,  no  doubt,  been  formed  by  the  exit  of  lava,  which,  centuries 
ago,  had  doubtless  broken  through  at  this  point,  and  contributed-: 
to  form  the  visible  reef  beyond.  The  height  of  this  hole  was 
some  twenty  feet,  having  an  arch  above  it,  and  its  width  may 
have  been  thirty.  When  Mark  got  to  it,  which  he  did  by 
descending  the  wall  of  the  crater,  not  without  risk  to  his  neck, 
he  found  the  surface  of  the  crater  very  even  and  unbroken, 
with  the  exception  of  its  having  a  slight  descent  from  its  east- 
ern to  its  western  side  ;  or  from  the  side  opposite  to  the  outlet, 
or  gateway,  to  the  gateway  itself.  This  inclination  Mark  fan- 
cied was  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  the  water  of  the  ocean 
had  formerly  entered  at  the  hole,  in  uncommonly  high  tides 
and  tempests,  and  washed  the  ashes,  which  had  once  formed  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  69 

bottom  of  the  crater,  toward  the  remote  part  of  the  plain. 
These  ashes  had  been  converted  by  time  into  a  soft,  or  friable 
rock,  composing  a  stone  that  is  called  tufa.  If  there  had  ever 
been  a  cone  in  the  crater,  as  was  probably  the  case,  it  had 
totally  disappeared  under  the  action  of  time  and  the  wear  of  the 
seasons.  Rock,  however,  the  bed  of  the  crater  could  scarcely 
be  yet  considered,  though  it  had  a  crust  which  bore  .the  weight 
of  a  man  very  readily,  in  nearly  every  part  of  it.  Once  or  twice 
Mark  broke  through,  as  one  would  fall  through  rotten  ice,  when 
he  found  his  shoes  covered  with  a  light  dust  that  much  resem- 
bled ashes.  In  other  places  he  broke  this  crust  on  purpose, 
always  finding  beneath  it  a  considerable  depth  of  ashes,  mingled 
with  some  shells,  and  a  few  small  stones. 

That  the  water  sometimes  flowed  into  this  crater  was  evident 
by  a  considerable  deposit  of  salt,  which  marked  the*  limits  of 
the  latest  of  these  floods.  This  salt  had  probably  prevented 
vegetation.  The  water,  however,  never  could  have  entered 
from  the  sea,  had  not  the  lava  which  originally  made  the  outlet 
left  a  sort  of  channel  that  was  lower  than  the  surface  of  the 
outer  rocks.  It  might  be  nearer  to  the  real  character  of  the 
phenomenon  were  we  to  say,  that  the  lava  which  had  broken 
through  the  barrier  at  this  point,  and  tumbled  into  the  sea,  had 
not  quite  filled  the  channel  which  it  rather  found,  than  formed, 
when  it  ceased  to  flow.  Cooling  in  that  form,  an  irregular 
crevice  was  left,  through  which  the  element,  no  doubt,  still  oc- 
casionally entered,  when  the  adjacent  ocean  got  a  sufficient  ele- 
vation. Mark  observed  that,  from  some  cause  or  other,  the  birds 
avoided  the  crater.  It  really  seemed  to  him  that  their  instincts 
warned  them  of  the  dangers  that  had  once  environed  the  place, 
and  that,  to  use  the  language  of  sailors,  "they  gave  it  a  wide 
berth,"  in  consequence.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause, 
such  was  the  fact ;  few  even  flying  over  it,  though  they  were  to 
be  seen  in  hundreds,  in  the  air  all  round  it. 


VO  THE    ceatkr: 


CHAPTER  V. 

uThe  king's  son  have  I  landed  by  himself; 
Whom  I  left  cooling  of  the  air  with  sighs 
In  an  odd  angle  of  the  isle,  and  sitting, 
His  arms  in  this  sad  knot." 

Tempest. 

Having  completed  this  first  examination  of  the  crater,  Mark 
and  Bob  next  picked  their  way  again  to  the  summit  of  its  wall, 
and  took  their  seats  directly  over  the  arch.  Here  they  enjoyed 
as  good  a  look-out  as  the  little  island  afforded,  not  only  of  its 
own  surface,  but  of  the  surrounding  ocean.  Mark  now  began 
to  comprehend  the  character  of  the  singular  geological  forma- 
tion, into  the  midst  of  which  the  Rancocus  had  been  led,  as  it 
might  almost  be,  by  the  hand  of  Providence  itself.  He  was  at 
that  moment  seated  on  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  a  submarine 
mountain  of  volcanic  origin — submarine  as  to  all  its  elevations, 
heights,  and  spaces,  with  the  exception  of  the  crater  where  he 
had  just  taken  his  stand,  and  the  little  bit  of  visible  and  vener- 
able lava,  by  which  it  was  surrounded.  It  is  true  that  this  lava 
rose  very  near  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  in  fifty  places  that  he 
could  see  at  no  great  distance,  forming  the  numberless  breakers 
that  characterized  the  place  ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  Mark's 
Reef,  as  Bob  named  the  principal  island  on  the  spot,  two  or 
three  detached  islets  within  a  cable' s-length  of  it,  and  a  few  little 
more  remote,  the  particular  haunts  of  birds,  no  other  land  was 
visible,  far  or  near. 

As  Mark  sat  there  on  that  rock  of  concrete  ashes,  he  specu 
lated  on  the  probable  extent  of  the  shoals  and  reefs  by  which  he 
was  surrounded.  Judging  by  what  he  then  saw,  and  recalling 
the  particulars  of  the  examination  made  from  the  cross-trees  of 


o  n. ,     v  r  I.  C  A  X  '  S     P  E  A  K  .  71 

the  ship,  he  supposed  that  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the 
navigation  must  extend,  in  an  east  and  west  direction,  at  least 
twelve  marine  leagues  ;   while,  in  a  north  and  south,. the  distance 
seemed  to  be  a  little,  and  a  very  little  less.    There  was  neces- 
sarily a   good  deal  of  conjecture  in  this  estimate  of  the  ex- 
tent of  the  volcanic  mountain  which  composed  these  extensive 
shoals;    but,  from  what    he  saw,  from  the  distance    the  ship 
was  known  to  have  run  amid  the  dangers  before  she  brought 
up   her  present  anchorage,  the  position  of  the  island,  and  all  the 
other  materials  before  him  to  make  his  calculation  on,  Mark  be- 
hoved hnnself  rather  to  have  lessened  than  to  have  exaggerated 
the  extent  of  these  shoals.     Had  the  throes  of  the  earth? which 
produced  this  submerged  rock,  been  a  little  more  powerful    a 
beautiful   and  fertile  island,   of  very   respectable    dimensions, 
would  probably  have  been  formed  in  its  place. 

From  the  time   of  reaching  the  reef,  which  is  now  to  bear 
his  name  in  all  future  time,  our  young  seaman  had  be^un  to 
admit  the  bitter  possibility  of  being  compelled  to  pass  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  on  it.     How  long  he  and  his  companion 
could  find  the  means  of  subsistence  in  a  place  so  barren,  was 
merely  matter  of  conjecture;  but  so  long  as  Providence  should 
furnish  these  means,  was  it  highly  probable  that  solitary  and 
little-favored  spot  was  to  be  their  home.     It  is  unnecessary  to 
state  with  what  bitter  regrets  the  young  bridegroom  admitted 
this   painful   idea;   but   Mark   was   too   manly  and   resolute  to 
abandon  himself  to  despair,  even  at  such  a  moment.     He  kept 
his  sorrows  pent  up  in  the  repository  of  his  own  bosom,  and 
endeavored  to  imitate  the  calm  exterior  of  his  companion        \s 
for  Bob,  he  was  a  good  deal  of  a  philosopher  bv  nature  ;  and, 
having  made  up  his  mind  that  they  were  doomed  to  -Robinson 
Crusoe  it,"  for  a  few  years  at  least,  he  was  already  turning  over 
in  his  thoughts  the  means  of  doing  so  to  the  best  advantage. 
'Jnder  such  circumstances,  and  with  such  feelings,  it  is  not°at 
all  surprising  that  their  present  situation  and  their  future  pros- 
pects soon  became  the  subject  of  discourse,  between  these  two 
solitary  seamen. 


72  the    crater: 

"  We  are  fairly  in  for  it,  Mr.  Mark,"  said  Bob,  "  and  differ 
from  Robinson  only  in  the  fact  that  there  are  two  of  us ;  where- 
as he  was  obliged  to  set  up  for  himself,  and  by  himself,  until  he 
fell  in  with  Friday  !" 

"  I  wish  I  could  say  that  was  the  only  difference  in  our  con- 
ditions, Betts,  but  it  is  very  far  from  being  so.  In  the  first 
place  he  had  an  island,  while  we  have  little  more  than  a  reef; 
he  had  soil,  while  we  have  naked  rock  ;  he  had  fresh  water, 
and  we  have  none  ;  he  had  trees,  while  we  have  uot  even  a 
spear  of  grass.  All  these  circumstances  make  out  a  case  most 
desperately  against  us." 

"You  speak  truth,  sir;  yet  is  there  light  ahead.  We  have 
a  ship,  sound  and  tight  as  the  day  she  sailed  ;  while  Robinson 
lost  his  craft  under  his  feet.  As  long  as  there  is  a  plank  afloat, 
a  true  salt  never  gives  up." 

"  A\,  Bob,  I  feel  that,  as  strongly  as  you  can  yourself;  nor 
do  I  mean  to  give  up,  so  long  as  there  is  reason  to  think  God 
has  not  entirely  deserted  us.  But  that  ship  is  of  no  use,  in 
the  way  of  returning  to  our  friends  and  home  ;  or,  of  no  use  as 
a  ship.  The  power  of  man  could  scarcely  extricate  her  from  the 
reefs  around  her." 

"  It's  a  bloody  bad  berth,"  said  Bob,  squirting  the  saliva  of 
his  tobacco  half-way  down  the  wall  of  the  crater,  "that  I  must 
allow.  Howsomever,  the  ship  will  be  of  use  in  a  great  many 
ways,  Mr.  Mark,  if  we  can  keep  her  afloat,  even  where  she  is. 
The  water  that's  in  her  will  last  us  two  a  twelvemonth,  if  we 
are  a  little  particular  about  it ;  and  when  the  rainy  season  sets 
in,  as  the  rainy  season  will  be  sure  to  do  in  this  latitude,  we 
can  fill  up  for  a  fresh  start.  Then  the  ship  will  be  a  house  for 
us  to  live  in,  and  a  capital  good  house,  too.  You  can  live  aft, 
sir,  and  I'll  take  my  swing  in  the  forecastle,  just  as  if  nothing 
had  happened." 

"  No,  no,  Bob  ;  there  is  an  end  of  all  such  distinctions  now. 
Misery,  like  the  grave,  brings  all1  upon  a  level.  You  and  I 
commenced  as  messmates,  and  we  are  likely  to  end  as  mess- 
mates.    There  is  a  use  to  which  the  ship  may  ho  put,  however, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  73 

that  you  have  not  mentioned,  and  to  which  we  must  look  for- 
ward as  our  best  hope  for  this  world.  She  may  be  broken  up 
by  us,  and  we  may  succeed  in  building  a  craft  large  enough  to 
navigate  these  mild  seas,  and  yet  small  enough  to  be  taken 
through,  or  over  the  reefs.  In  that  way,  favored  by  Divine 
Providence,  we  may  live  to  see  our  friends  again." 

"  Courage,  Mr.  Mark  ;  courage,  sir.  I  know  it  must  be  hard 
on  the  feelin's  of  a  married  man,  like  yourself,  that  has  left  a 
parfect  pictur'  behind  him,  to  believe  he  is  never  to  return  to 
his  home  again.  But  I  don't  believe  that  such  is  to  be  our 
fate.  I  never  heard  of  such  an  end  to  a  Crusoe  party.  Even 
Robinson,  himself,  got  off  at  last,  and  had  a  desperate  hard 
journey  of  it,  after  he  hauled  his  land-tacks  aboard.  I  like 
that  idee  of  the  new  craft  'specially  well,  and  will  lend  a  hand 
to  help  you  through  with  it  with  all  my  heart.  I'm  not  much 
of  a  carpenter,  it's  true  ;  nor  do  I  suppose  you  are  any  thing 
wonderful  with  the  broad-axe  and  adze  ;  but  two  willing  and 
stout  men,  who  has  got  their  lives  to  save,  can  turn  their  hands 
to  almost  any  thing.  For  my  part,  sir,  since  I  was  to  be 
wrecked  and  Robinson  it  awhile,  I'm  gratefully  thankful  that 
I've  got  you  for  a  companion,  that's  all !" 

Mark  smiled  at  this  oblique  compliment,  but  he  felt  well 
assured  that  Bob  meant  all  for  the  best.  After  a  short  pause, 
he  resumed  the  discourse  by  saying — 

"  I  have  been  thinking,  Bob,  of  the  possibility  of  getting  the 
ship  safely  down  as  far  as  this  island.  Could  we  but  place  her 
to  leeward  of  that  last  reef  off  the  weather  end  of  the  island, 
she  might  lie  there  years,  or  until  she  fell  to  pieces  by  decay.' 
If  we  are  to  attempt  building  a  decked  boat,  or  any  thing  lar^e 
enough  to  ride  out  a  gale  in,  we  shall  want  more  room  than 
the  ship's  decks  to  set  it  up  in.  Besides,  we  could  never  get  a 
craft  of  those  dimensions  off  the  ship's  decks,  and  must,  of 
necessity,  build  it  in  some  place  where  it  may  be  launched. 
Our  dingui  would  never  do  to  be  moving  backward  and  for- 
ward, so  great  a  distance,  for  it  will  carry  little  more  than  our- 
selves. All  things  considered,  therefore,  I  am  of  opinion  we 
4 


74  the    cratek: 

can  do  nothing  better  to  begin  with,  than  to  try  to  get  the  ship 
down  here,  where  we  have  room,  and  may  carry  out  our  plans 
to  some  advantage." 

Bob  assented  at  once  to  this  scheme,  and  suggested  one  or 
two  ideas  in  approbation  of  it,  that  were  new  even  to  Mark. 
Thus,  it  was  evident  to  both,  that  if  the  ship  herself  were  ever 
to  get  clear  of  the  reef,  it  must  be  by  passing  out  to  leeward  ; 
and  by  bringing  her  down  to  the  island  so  much  would  be 
gained  on  tbe  indispensable  course.  Thus,  added  Bob,  she 
might  be  securely  moored  in  the  little  bay  to  windward  of  the 
island  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  time,  it  was  possible  that  by  a 
thorough  examination  of  the  channels  to  the  westward,  and  by 
the  use  of  buoys,  a  passage  might  be  found,  after  all,  that  would 
carry  them  out  to  sea.  Mark  had  little  hope  of  ever  getting 
the  Rancocus  extricated  from  the  maze  of  rocks  into  which  she 
had  so  blindly  entered,  and  where  she  probably  never  could 
have  come  but  by  driving  over  some  of  them  ;  but  he  saw  many 
advantages  in  this  plan  of  removing  the  ship,  that  increased  in 
number  and  magnitude  the  more  he  thought  on  the  subject. 
Security  to  the  fresh  water  was  one  great  object  to  be  attained. 
Should  it  come  on  to  blow,  and  the  ship  drift  down  upon  the 
rocks  to  leeward  of  her,  she  would  probably  go  to  pieces  in  an 
hour  or  two,  when  not  only  all  the  other  ample  stores  that  she 
contained,  but  every  drop  of  sweet  water  at  the  command  of 
the  two  seamen,  would  inevitably  be  lost.  So  important  did  it 
appear  to  Mark  to  make  sure  of  a  portion  of  this  great  essen- 
tial, at  least,  that  he  would  have  proposed  towing  down  to  the 
reef,  or  island,  a  few  casks,  had  the  dingui  been  heavy  enough 
to  render  such  a  project  practicable.  After  talking  over  these 
several  points  still  more  at  large,  Mark  and  Bob  descended 
from  the  summit  of  the  crater,  made  half  of  its  circuit,  and  re- 
turned to  their  boat. 

As  the  day  continued  calm,  Mark  was  in  no  hurry,  but  passed 
half  an  hour  in  sounding  the  little  bay  that  was  formed  by  the 
sunken  rocks  that  lay  off  the  eastern,  or  weather  end  of  the 
Crater  Reef,  as,  in  a  spirit  of  humility,  he  insisted  on  calling 


or,    v  u  loan's    peak.  75 

that  wliich  everybody  else  now  calls  Mark's  Reef.  Here  he  not 
only  found  abundance  of  water  for  all  he  wanted,  but,  to  his 
surprise,  he  also  found  a  sandy  bottom,  formed,  no  doubt,  by  the 
particles  washed  from  the  surrounding  rocks  under  the  never- 
ceasing  abrasion  of  the  waves.  On  the  submerged  reef  there 
were  only  a  few  inches  of  water,  and  our  mariners  saw  clearly 
that  it  was  possible  to  secure  the  ship  in  this  basin,  in  a  very 
effectual  manner,  could  they  only  have  a  sufficiency  of  good 
weather  in  which  to  do  it. 

After  surveying  the  basin,  itself,  with  sufficient  care,  Bob 
pulled  the  dingui  back  toward  the  ship,  Mark  sounding  as  they 
proceeded.  But  two  difficulties  were  found  between  the  points 
that  it  was  so  desirable  to  bring  in  communication  with  each 
other.  One  of  these  difficulties  consisted  in  a  passage  between 
two  lines  of  reef,  that  ran  nearly  parallel  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
and  which  were  only  half  a  cable' s-length  asunder.  There  was 
abundance  of  water  between  these  reefs,  but  the  difficulty  was 
in  the  course,  and  in  the  narrowness  of  the  passage.  Mark 
passed  through  the  latter  four  several  times,  sounding  it,  as  it 
might  be,  foot  by  foot,  and  examining  the  bottom  with  the 
eye  ;  for,  in  that  pellucid  water,  with  the  sun  near  the  zenith, 
it  was  possible  to  see  two  or  three  fathoms  down,  and  nowhere 
did  he  find  any  other  obstacle  than  this  just  mentioned.  Nor 
was  any  buoy  necessary,  the  water  breaking  over  the  southern 
end  of  the  outer,  and  over  the  northern  end  of  the  inner  ledge, 
and  nowhere  else  near  by,  thus  distinctly  noting  the  very  two 
points  where  it  would  be  necessary  to  alter  the  course. 

The  second  obstacle  was  much  more  serious  than  that  just 
described.  It  was  a  reef  with  a  good  deal  of  water  over  most 
of  it;  so  much,  indeed,  that  the  sea  did  not  break,  unless  in 
heavy  gales,  but  not  enough  to  carry  a  ship  like  the  Rancocus 
over,  except  in  one,  and  that  a  very  contracted  pass,  of  less  than 
a  hundred  feet  in  width.  This  channel  it  would  be  indispensa- 
bly necessary  to  buoy,  since  a  variation  from  the  true  course 
of  only  a  few  fathoms,  would  infallibly  produce  the  loss  of  the 
ship.      All  the  rest  of  the  distance  was  easily  enough  made  by 


76  the    crater: 

a  vessel  standing  down,  by  simply  taking  care  not  to  run  into 
visible  breakers. 

Mark  and  Bob  did  not  get  back  to  the  Rancocus  until  near 
three  o'clock.  They  found  every  thing  as  they  had  left  it,  and 
the  pigs,  poultry,  and  goat,  glad  enough  to  see  them,  and  be- 
ginning to  want  their  victuals  and  drink.  The  two  first  are  to 
be  found  on  board  of  every  ship,  but  the  last  is  not  quite  so 
usual.  Captain  Crutchely  had  brought  one  along  to  supply  milk 
for  his  tea,  a  beverage  that,  oddly  enough,  stood  second  only 
to  grog  in  his  favor.  After  Bob  had  attended  to  the  wants  of 
the  brute  animals,  he  and  Mark  again  sat  down  on  the  windlass 
to  make  another  cold  repast  on  broken  meat — as  yet,  they  had 
not  the  hearts  to  cook  any  thing.  \  »ou  as  this  homely  meal 
was  taken,  Mark  placed  a  couple  of  buoys  in  the  dingui,  with 
the  pig-iron  that  was  necessary  to  anchor  them,  and  proceeded 
to  the  spot  on  the  reef  where  it  was  proposed  to  place  them. 

Our  mariners  were  quite  an  hour  in  searching  for  the  chan- 
nel, and  near  another  in  anchoring  the  buoys  in  a  way  to  render 
the  passage  perfectly  safe.  As  soon  as  this  was  done,  Bob 
pulled  back  to  the  ship,  which  was  less  than  a  mile  distant,  as 
fast  as  he  could,  for  there  was  every  appearance  of  a  change  of 
weather.  The  moment  was  one,  now,  that  demanded  great 
coolness  and  decision.  Not  more  than  an  hour  of  day  remain- 
ed, and  the  question  Was  whether  to  attempt  to  move  the  ship- 
that  night,  when  the  channel  and  its  marks  were  all  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  two  seamen,  and  before  the  foul  weather  came,  or 
to  trust  to  the  cable  that  was  down  to  ride  out  any  blow  that 
might  happen.  Mark,  young  as  he  was,  thought  justly  on  most 
professional  subjects.  He  knew  that  heavy  rollers  would  come 
in  across  the  reef  where  the  vessel  then  lay,  and  was  fearful  that 
the  cable  would  chafe  and  part,  should  it  come  on  to  blow  hard 
for  four-and-twenty  hours  continually.  These  rollers,  he  also 
knew  by  the  observation  of  that  day,  were  completely  broken 
and  dispersed  on  the  rocks,  before  they  got  down  to  the  island, 
and  he  believed  the  chances  of  safety  much  greater  by  moving 
the  ship  at  once,  than  by  trying  the  fortune  of  another  night 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  11 

out  where  she  then  lay.  Bob  submitted  to  this  decision  pre- 
cisely as  if  Mark  was  still  his  officer,  and  no  sooner  got  his  or- 
ders than  he  sprang  from  sail  to  sail,  and  rope  to  rope,  like  a 
cat  playing  among  the  branches  of  some  tree.  In  that  day 
spensers  were  unknown,  stay-sails  doing  their  duty.  Thus  Bob 
loosed  the  jib,  rnain-top-mast  and  mizen-stay-sails,  and  saw  the 
spanker  clear  for  setting.  While  he  was  thus  busied,  Mark  was 
looking  to  the  stopper  and  shank-painter  of  the  sheet-anchor, 
which  had  been  got  ready  to  let  go  before  Captain  Crutchely 
was  lost.  He  even  succeeded  in  getting  that  heavy  piece  of 
metal  a  cock-bill,  without  calling  on  Bob  for  assistance. 

It  was,  indeed,  time  for  them  to  be  in  a  hurry ;  for  the  wind 
began  to  come  in  puffs,  the  sun  was  sinking  into  a  bank  of 
clouds,  and  all  along  the  horizon  to  windward  the  sky  looked 
dark  and  menacing.  Once  Mark  changed  his  mind,  determin- 
ing to  hold  on,  and  let  go  the  sheet-anchor  where  he  was,  should 
it  become  necessary  ;  but  a  lull  tempted  him  to  proceed.  Bob 
shouted  out  that  all  was  ready,  and  Mark  lifted  the  axe  with 
which  he  was  armed,  and  struck  a  heavy  blow  on  the  cable. 
That  settled  the  matter;  an  entire  strand  was  separated,  and 
three  or  four  more  blows  released  the  ship  from  her  anchor. 
Mark  now  sprang  to  the  jib-halliards,  assisting  Bob  to  hoist  tho 
sail.  This  was  no  sooner  done  than  he  went  aft  to  the  whpel, 
where  he  arrived  in  time  to  help  the  ship  to  fall  off.  The  spank- 
er was  next  got  out  as  well  as  two  men  could  do  it  in  a  burn', 
and  then  Bob  went  forward  to  tend  the  jib-sheet,  and  to  look 
out  for  the  buoys. 

It  was  indispensable  in  such  a  navigation  to  make  no  mistake, 
and  Mark  enjoined  the  utmost  vigilance  on  his  friend.  Twenty 
times  did  he  hail  to  inquire  if  the  buoys  were  to  be  seen,  and 
at  last  he  was  gratified  by  an  answer  in  the  affirmative. 

"Keep  her  away,  Mr.  Mark — keep  her  away,  you  may,  sir; 
we  are  well  to  windward  of  the  channel.  Ay,  that'll  do,  Mr. 
Woolston — that's  your  beauty,  sir.  Can't  you  get  a  sight  of 
them  b'ys  yourself,  sir  ?" 

*■  Not  just  yet,  Bob,  and  so  much  the  greater  need  that  yuu 


78 


THE      CRATER 


should  look  out  the  sharper.  Give  the  ship  plenty  of  room, 
and  I'll  let  her  run .  down  for  the  passage,  square  for  tho 
channel." 

Bob  now  ran  aft,  telling  the  mate  he  had  better  go  on  the 
forecastle  himself  and  conn  the  ship  through  the  passage,  which 
was  a  place  he  did  not  like.  Mark  was  vexed  that  the  change 
should  be  made  just  at  that  critical  instant,  but,  bounding  for- 
ward, he  was  between  the  knight-heads  in  half  a  minute,  looking 
oat  for  the  buoys.  At  first,  he  could  not  see  them;  and  then 
lie  most  felt  the  imprudence  of  Bob's  quitting  his  post  in  such  a 
critical  instant.  In  another  minute,  however,  he  found  one; 
and  presently  the  other  came  in  sight,  fearfully  close,  as  it  now 
appeared  to  our  young  mariner,  to  its  neighbor.  The  position 
of  the  ship,  nevertheless,  was  sufficiently  to  windward,  leaving 
plenty  of  room  to  keep  off  in.  As  soon  as  the  ship  was  far 
enough  ahead,  Mark  called  out  to  Bob  to  put  his  helm  hard  up. 
This  was  done,  and  away  the  Rancocus  went,  Mark  watching  her 
with  the  utmost  vigilance,  lest  she  should  sheer  a  little  too  much 
to  the  one  side  or  to  the  other.  He  hardly  breathed  as  the  vessel 
glided  down  upon  these  two  black  seutinels,  and,  for  an  instant, 
he  fancied  the  wind  or  the  current  had  interfered  with  their 
positions.  It  was  now  too  late,  however,  to  attempt  any  change, 
and  Mark  saw  the  ship  surging  onward  on  the  swells  of  the 
ocean,  which  made  their  way  thus  far  within  the  reefs,  with  a 
greater  intensity  of  anxiety  than  he  had  ever  before  experienced 
in  his  life.  Away  went  the  ship,  and  each  time  she  settled  in 
the  water,  our  young  man  expected  to  hear  her  keel  grating  on 
the  bottom,  but  it  did  not  touch.  Presently  the  buoys  were  on 
her  quarters,  and  then  Mark  knew  that  the  danger  of  this  one 
spot  was  passed  ! 

The  next  step  was  to  find  the  southern  end  of  the  outer  ledge 
that  formed  the  succeeding  passage.  This  was  not  done  until 
the  ship  was  close  aboard  of  it.  A  change  had  come  over  the 
spot  within  the  last  few  hours,  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of 
wind,  the  water  breaking  all  along  the  ledge,  instead  of  on  its 
end  only  ;  but  Mark  cared  not  for  this,  once  certain  he  had 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  79 

found  that  end.  He  was  now  halt-way  between  his  former  an- 
chorage and  the  crater,  and  he  could  distinguish  the  latter 
quite  plainly.  But  sail  was  necessary  to  carry  the  ship  safely 
through  the  channel  ahead,  and  Mark  called  to  Bob  to  lash  the 
helm  amidships  after  luffing  up  to  his  course,  and  to  spring  to 
the  main-top-niast  stay-sail  halliards,  and  help  him  to  hoist  the 
sail.  This  was  soon  done,  and  the  new  sail  was  got  up,  and  tho 
sheet  hauled  aft.  Next  followed  the  mizen  stay-sail,  which  was 
spread  in  the  same  manner.  Bob  then  flew  to  the  wheel,  and 
Mark  to  his  knight-heads  again.  Contrary  to  Mark's  apprehen- 
sions, he  saw  that  the  ship  was  luffing  up  close  to  the  weather 
ledge,  leaving  little  danger  of  her  going  on  to  it.  As  soon  as 
met  by  the  helm,  however,  she  fell  off,  and  Mark  no  longer  had 
any  doubt  of  weathering  the  northern  end  of  the  inner  ledge  of 
this  passage.  The  wind  coming  in  fresher  puffs,  this  was  soon 
done,  when  the  ship  was  kept  dead  away  for  the  crater.  There 
was  the  northern  end  of  the  reef,  which  formed  the  inner  basin 
of  all,  to  double,  when  that  which  remained  to  do  was  merely  to 
range  far  enough  within  the  reef  to  get  a  cover,  and  to  drop  the 
anchor.  In  order  to  do  this  with  success,  Mark  now  .com- 
menced hauling  down  the  jib.  By  the  time  he  had  that  sail  well 
in,  the  ship  was  off  the  end  of  the  sunken  reef,  when  Bob  put 
his  helm  astarboard  and  rounded  it.  Down  came  the  main- 
top-mast stay -sail,  and  Mark  jumped  on  the  forecastle,  while  he 
called  out  to  Bob  to  lash  the  helm  alee.  In  an  instant,  Bob 
was  at  the  young  man's  side,  and  both  waited  for  the  ship  to 
luff  into  the  wind,  and  to  forge  as  near  as  possible  to  the  reef. 
This  was  successfully  done  also,  and  Mark  let  go  the  stopper 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  wall  of  the  sunken  reef,  just  as  the 
ship  began  to  drive  astern.  The  canvas  was  rolled  up  and  se- 
emed, the  cable  payed  out,  until  the  ship  lay  just  mid-channel 
between  the  island  and  the  sea  wall  without,  and  the  whole  se- 
cured. Then  Bob  took  off  his  tarpauling  and  gave  three  cheers, 
while  Mark  walked  aft,  silently  returning  thanks  to  God  for  the 
complete  success  of  this  important  movement. 

Important,  -most  truly,  was  this  change.      Not-  only  was  the 


80  the    crater: 

ship  anchored,  with  her  heaviest  anchor  down,  and  her  best 
cable  out,  in  good  holding  ground,  and  in  a  basin  where  very- 
little  swelL  ever  penetrated,  and  that  entering  laterally  and  dim- 
inished in  force  ;  but  there  she  was  within  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  of  the  island,  at  all  times  accessible  by  means  of  the 
dingui,  a  boat  that  it  would  not  do  to  trust  in  the  water  at  all 
outside  when  it  blew  in  the  least  fresh.  In  short,  it  was  scarce- 
ly possible  to  have  a  vessel  in  a  safer  berth,  so  long  as  her 
spars  and  hull  were  exposed  to  the  gales  of  the  ocean,  or  one 
that  was  more  convenient  to  those  who  used  the  island.  By 
getting  down  her  spars  and  other  hamper,  the  power  of  the 
winds  would  be  much  lessened,  though  Mark  felt  little  appre- 
hension of  the  winds  at  that  season  of  the  year,  so  long  as  the 
sea  could  not  make  a  long  rake  against  the  vessel.  He  be- 
lieved the  ship  safe  for  the  present,  and  felt  the  hope  of  still 
finding  a  passage  through  the  reef  to  leeward,  reviving  in  his 
breast. 

Well  might  Mark  and  Bob  rejoice  in  the  great  feat  they  had 
just  performed.  That  night  it  blew  so  heavily  as  to  leave 
little  doubt  that  the  ship  never  could  have  been  kept  at  her 
anchor,  outside  ;  and  had  she  struck  adrift  in  the  darkness, 
nothing  could  have  saved  them  from  almost  immediate  destruc- 
tion. The  rollers  came  down  in  tremendous  billows,  breaking 
and  roaring  on  all  sides  of  the  island,  rendering  the  sea  white- 
with  their  foam,  even  at  midnight ;  but,  on  reaching  the  mas- 
sive natural  wall  that  protected  the  Rancocus,  they  dashed 
themselves  into  spray  against  it,  wetting  the  vessel  from  her 
truck  down,  but  doing  her  no  injury.  Mark  remained  on  deck 
until  past  twelve  o'clock,  when,  finding  that  the  gale  was  already 
breaking,  he  turned  in  and  slept  soundly  until  morning.  As  for 
Bob,  he  had  taken  his  watch  below  early  in  the  evening,  and 
there  he  remained  undisturbed  until  the  appearance  of  day, 
when  he  turned  out  of  his  own  accord. 

Mark  took  another  look  at  the  sea,  reefs,  and  islands,  from 
the  main-top-mast  cross-trees  of  the  ship,  as  she  lay  in  her  new 
berth.     Of  course,  the  ranije  of  the  vision  was  somewhat  al- 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  81 

tered  by  this  change  of  position,  and  especially  did  he  see  a 
greater  distance  to  the  westward,  or  toward  the  lee  side  of  the 
reefs.  Nothing  encouraging  was  made  out,  however ;  the 
young  man  rather  inclining  more  to  the  opinion  than  he  had 
ever  done  before,  that  the  vessel  could  not  be  extricated  from 
the  rocks  which  surrounded  her.  With  this  conviction  strong- 
ly renewed,  he  descended  to  the  deck,  to  share  in  the  breakfast 
Bob  had  set  about  preparing,  the  moment  he  quitted  his  cat- 
tails ;  for  Bob  insisted  on  sleeping  in  the  forecastle,  though 
Mark  had  pressed  him  to  take  one  of  the  cabiu  state-rooms. 
This  time  the  meal,  which  included  some  very  respectable 
ship's  coffee,  was  taken  on  the  cabin-table ;  the  day  being 
cloudless,  and  the  sun's  rays  possessing  a  power  that  made  it 
unpleasant  to  sit  long  anywhere  out  of  a  shade.  While  the 
meal  was  taken,  another  conversation  was  held  touching  their 
situation. 

"  By  the  manner  in  which  it  blew  last  night,"  Mark  observed, 
"  I  doubt  if  we  should  have  had  this  comfortable  cabin  to  eat 
in  this  morning,  and  these  good  articles  to  consume,  had  we  left 
the  ship  outside  until  morning." 

"  I  look  upon  it  as  a  good  job  well  done,  Mr.  Mark,"  an- 
swered Bob.  "  I  must  own  I  had  no  great  hopes  of  our  ever 
getting  here,  but  was  willing  to  try  it ;  for  them  rollers  didn't 
mind  half  a  dozen  reefs,  but  came  tumbling  in  over  them,  in  a 
way  to  threaten  the  old  'Cocus  with  being  ground  into  powder. 
For  my  part,  sir,  I  thank  God,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart, 
that  we  are  here." 

"  You  have  reason  to  do  so,  Bob ;  and  while  we  may  both 
regret  the  misfortune  that  has  befallen  us,  we  had  need  remem- 
ber how  much  better  off  we  are  than  our  shipmates,  poor  fel- 
lows ! — or  how  much  better  we  are  off  than  many  a  poor 
mariner  who  loses  his  vessel  altogether." 

"Yes,  the  saving  of  the  ship  is  a  great  thing  for  us.     We 

can  hardly  call  this  a  shipwreck,  Mr.  Mark,  though  we  have 

been  ashore  once  ;  it  is  more  like  being  docked,  than  any  thing 

else  !" 
4* 


82  thbokater: 

"  I  have  heard,  before,  of  vessels  being  carried  over  reefs, 
and  bars  of  rivers,  into  berths  they  could  not  quit,"  answered 
Mark.  "But  reflect  a  moment,  Bob,  how  much  better  our 
condition  is,  than  if  we  had  washed  down  on  this  naked  reef, 
with  onl)T  such  articles  to  comfort  us,  as  could  be  picked  up 
along  shore  from  the  wreck  !" 

"  I'm  glad  to  hear  you  talk  in  this  rational  way,  Mr.  Mark  ; 
for  it's  a  sign  you  do  not  give  up,  or  take  things  too  deeply 
to  heart.  I  was  afeard  that  you  might  be  thinking  too  much 
of  Miss  Bridget,  and  make  yourself  more  unhappy  than  is  nec- 
essary for  a  man  who  has  things  so  comfortable  around  him." 

"The  separation  from  my  wife  causes  me  much  pain,  Betts, 
but  I  trust  in  God.  It  has  been  in  his  pleasure  to  place  us  in 
this  extraordinary  situation,  and  I  hope  that  something  good 
will  come  of  it." 

"  That's  the  right  sentiments,  sir — only  keep  such  feelings 
uppermost,  and  we  shall  do  right  down  well.  Why,  we  have 
water,  in  plenty,  until  after  the  rainy  season  shall  be  along, 
when  we  can  catch  a  fresh  supply.  Then,  there  is  beef  and 
pork  enough  betwixt  decks  to  last  you  and  me  five  or  six  years; 
and  bread  and  flour  in  good  quantities,  to  say  nothing  of  lots  of 
small  stores,  both  forward  and  aft." 

"  The  ship  is  well  found,  and,  as  you  say,  we  might  live  a 
long  time,  years  certainly,  on  the  food  she  contains.  There  is, 
however,  one  thing  to  be  dreaded,  and  to  provide  against  which 
shall  be  my  first  care.  We  are  now  fifty  days  on  salted  provi- 
sions, and  fifty  more  will  give  us  both  the  scurvy." 

"The  Lord  in  his  mercy  protect  me  from  that  disease !"  ex- 
claimed Bob.  "I  had  it  once,  in  an  old  v'y'ge  round  the 
Horn,  and  have  no  wish  to  try  it  ag'in.  But  there  must  be  fish 
in  plenty  among  these  rocks,  Mr.  Mark,  and  we  have  a  good 
stock  of  bread.  By  dropping  the  beef  and  pork  for  a  few  days 
at  a  time,  might  we  not  get  shut  of  the  danger  ?" 

"Fish  will  help  us,  and  turtle  would  be  a  great  resource, 
could  we  meet  with  any  of  that.  But  man  requires  mixed  food, 
meats  and  vegetables,  to  keep  him  healthy  ;   and  nothing  is  so 


OB,     VULCAS'S      PEAK.  83 

good  for  the  scurvy  as  the  last.  The  worst  of  our  situation  is  a 
want  of  soil,  to  grow  any  vegetables  in.  I  did  not  see  so  much 
as  a  rush,  or  the  coarsest  sea-plant,  when  we  were  on  the  island 
yesterday.  If  we  had  soil,  there  is  seed  in  plenty  on  board,  and 
this  climate  would  bring  forward  vegetation  at  a  rapid  rate." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,  and  I'll  tell  you  what  I've  got  in  the  way  of 
seeds,  myself.  You  may  remember  the  delicious  musk  and 
water-melons  we  fell  in  with  last  v'y'ge,  in  the  east.  'Well,  sir, 
I  saved  some  of  the  seed,  thinking  to  give  it  to  my  brother, 
who  is  a  Jarsey  farmer,  you  know,  sir ;  and,  sailor-like,  I  forgot  it 
altogether,  when  in  port.  If  a  fellow  could  get  but  a  bit  of  earth 
to  put  them  melon-seeds  in,  we  'might  be  eating  our  fruit  like 
gentlemen,  two  months  hence,  or  three  months,  at  the  latest." 

"That  is  a  good  thought,  Betts,  and  we  will  turn  it  over  in 
our  minds.  If  such  a  thing  is  to  be  done  at  all,  the  sooner  it 
is  done  the  better,  that  the  melons  may  be  getting  ahead  while 
we  are  busy  with  the  other  matters.  This  is  just  the  season  to 
put  seed  into  the  ground,  and  I  think  we  might  make  soil 
enough  to  sustain  a  few  hills  of  melons.  If  I  remember  right, 
too,  there  are  some  of  the  sweet  potatoes  left." 

Bob  assented,  and  during  the  rest  of  the  meal  they  did  noth- 
ing but  pursue  this  plan  of  endeavoring  to  obtain  half  a  dozen 
or  a  dozen  hills  of  melons.  As  Mark  felt  all  the  importance  of 
doing  every  thing  that  lay  in  his  power  to  ward  off  the  scurvy, 
and  knew  that  time  was  not  to  be  lost,  he  determined  that  the 
very  first  thing  he  would  now  attend  to,  would  be  to  get  all  the 
seed  into  as  much  ground  as  he  could  contrive  to  make.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  soon  as  the  breakfast  was  ended,  Mark  went  to 
collect  his  seeds,  while  Bob  set  the  breakfast  things  aside,  after 
properly  cleaning  them. 

There  were  four  shoats  on  board,  which  had  been  kept  in  the 
launch,  until  that  boat  was  put  in  the  water,  the  night  the  Ran- 
cocus  ran  upon  the  rocks.  Since  that  time  they  had  been  left 
to  run  about  the  decks,  producing  a  good  deal  of  dirt,  and 
some  confusion.  These  shoats  Bob  now  caught,  and  dropped 
into  the  bay,  knowing  that  their  instinct  would  induce  them  to 


84  the    crater: 

swim  for  the  nearest  land.  All  this  turned  out  as  was  expect- 
ed, and  the  pigs  were  soon  seen  on  the  island,  snuffing  around 
On  the  rocks,  and  trying  to  root.  A  small  quantity  of  the 
excrement  of  these  animals  still  lay  on  the  deck,  where  it  had 
been  placed  when  the  launch  was  cleaned  for  service,  no  one 
thinking  at  such  a  moment  of  cleaning:  the  decks.  It  had 
been  washed  by  the  sea  that  came  aboard  quite  across  the  deck, 
but  still  formed  a  pile,  and  most  of  it  was  preserved.  This 
manure  Mark  was  about  to  put  in  a  half-barrel,  in  order  to 
carry  it  ashore,  for  the  purpose  of  converting  it  into  soil,  when 
Bob  suddenly  put  an  eud  to  what  he  was  about,  by  telling  him 
that  he  km  w  where  a  manure  worth  two  of  that  was  to  be 
fonnd.  An  explanation  was  asked  and  given.  Bob,  who  had 
been  several  voyages  on  the  western  coast  of  America,  told 
Mark  that  the  Peruvians  and  Chilians  made  great  use  of  the 
dung  of  aquatic  birds,  as  a  manure,  and  which  they  found  on 
the  rocks  that  lined  their  coast.  Now,  two  or  three  rocks  lay 
near  the  reef,  that  were  covered  with  this  deposit,  the  birds 
still  hovering  about  them,  aud  he  proposed  to  take  the  dingui, 
and  go  in  quest  of  a  little  of  that  fertilizing  manure.  A  very 
little,  he  said,  would  suffice,  the  Spaniards  using  it  in  small 
quantities,  but  applying  it  at  different  stages  in  the  'growth  of 
t lie  plant.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  Bob  had  fallen 
on  a  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  article  which  is  now  so  exten- 
sively known  under  the  name  of  guano,  in  the  course  of  his 
wanderings,  and  was  enabled  to  communicate  the  fact  to  his 
companion.  Mark  knew  that  Betts  was  a  man  of  severe  truth, 
and  he  was  so  much  the  more  disposed  to  listen  to  his  sugges- 
tion. While  our  young  mate  was  getting  the  boat  ready, 
therefore,  Bob  collected  his  tools,  provided  himself  with  a 
bucket,  passed  the  half-barrel,  into  which  Mark  had  thrown  the 
sweepings  of  the  decks,  into  the  dingui,  and  descended  himself 
and  took  the  sculls.  The  two  then  proceeded  to  Bob's  rock, 
where,  amid  the  screams  of  a  thousand  sea-birds,  the  honest 
fellow  filled  his  bucket  with  as  good  guano  as  was  ever  found  on 
the  coast  of  Peru. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  85 

While  the  boat  was  at  the  rock,  Mark  saw  that  the  pigs  had 
run  round  to  the  western  end  of  the  island,  snuffing  at  every 
thing  that  came  in  their  way,  and  trying  in  vain  to  root  wher- 
ever one  of  them  could  insert  his  nose.  As  a  hog  is  a  particu- 
larly sagacious  auimal,  Mark  kept  his  eyes  on  them  while  Bob 
was  picking  out  his  guano,  in  the  faint  hope  that  they  might 
discover  fresh  water,  by  means  of  their  instinct.  In  this  way 
he  saw  them  enter  the  gateway  of  the  crater,  pigs  being  pretty 
certain  to  run  their  noses  into  any  such  place  as  that. 

On  landing,  Mark  took  a  part  of  tHe  tools  and  the  bucket  of 
guano,  while  Bob  shouldered  the  remainder,  and  they  went  up 
to  the  hole,  and  entered  the  crater  together,  having  landed  as 
near  to  the  gateway  as  they  could  get,  with  that  object.  To 
Mark's  great  delight  he  found  that  the  pigs  were  now  actually 
rooting  with  some  success,  so  far  as  stirring  the  surface  was 
concerned,  though  getting  absolutely  nothing  for  their  pains. 
There  were  spots  on  the  plain  of  the  crater,  however,  where  it 
was  possible,  by  breaking  a  sort  of  crust,  to  get  down  into 
coarse  ashes  that  wei'e  not  entirely  without  some  of  the  essen- 
tials of  soil.  Exposure  to  the  air  and  water,  with  mixing  up 
with  sea-weed  and  such  other  waste  materials  as  he  could  col- 
lect, the  young  man  fancied  would  enable  him  to  obtain  a  suffi- 
ciency of  earthy  substances  to  sustain  the  growth  of  plants. 
While  on  the  summit  of  the  crater  wall,  he  had  seen  two  or 
three  places  where  it  had  struck  him  sweet-potatoes  and  beans 
might  be  made  to  grow,  and  he  determined  to  ascend  to  those 
spots,  and  make  his  essay  there,  as  being  the  most  removed 
from  the  inroads  of  the  pigs.  Could  he  only  succeed  in  obtain- 
ing two  or  three  hundred  melons,  he  felt  that  a  great  deal  would 
be  done  in  providing  the  means  of  checking  any  disposition  to 
scurvy  that  might  appear  in  Bob  or  himself.  In  this  thought- 
ful manner  did  one  so  young  look  ahead,  and  make-  provision 
for  the  future. 


86  thecratek: 


CHAPTER  VI. 

" that  done,  partake 

The  season,  prime  for  sweetest  scents  and  airs ; 
Then  commune  how  that  day  they  best  may  ply 
Their  growing  work  ;  for  much  their  work  outgrow 
The  hands  dispatch  of  two  gard'ning  so  wide.*' 

Milton. 

Our  two  mariners  had  come  ashore  well  provided  with  the 
means  of  carrying  out  their  plans.  The"  Rancocus  was  far  bet- 
ter provided  with  tools  suited  to  the  uses  of  the  land,  than  was 
common  for  ships,  her  voyage  contemplating  a  long  stay  among 
the  islands  she  was  to  visit.  Thus,  axes  and  picks  were  not 
wanting,  Captain  Crutchely  having  had  an  eye  to  the  possible 
necessity  of  fortifying  himself  against  savages.  Mark  now  as- 
cended the  crater-wall  with  a  pick  on  his  shoulder,  and  a  part 
of  a  coil  of  ratlin-stuff  around  his  neck.  As  he  went  up  he 
used  the  pick  to  make  steps,  and  did  so  much  in  that  way  in 
the  course  of  ten  minutes,  as  greatly  to  facilitate  the  ascent  and 
descent  at  the  particular  place  he  had  selected.  Once  on  the 
summit,  he  found  a  part  of  the  rock  that  overhung  its  base,  and 
dropped  one  end  of  his  line  into  the  crater.  To  this  Bob  at- 
tached the  bucket,  which  Mark  hauled  up  and  emptied.  In  this 
manner  every  thing  was  transferred  to  the  top  of  the  crater-wall 
that  was  needed  there,  when  Bob  went  down  to  the  dingui  to 
roll  up  the  half-barrel  of  sweepings  that  had  been  brought  from 
the  ship.    . 

Mark  next  looked  about  for  the  places  which  had  seemed  to 
him,  on  his  previous  visit,  to  have  most  of  the  character  of  soil. 
He  found  a  plenty  of  these  spots,  mostly  in  detached  cavities 
of  no  great  extent,  where  the  crust  had  not  yet  formed ;  or, 


OR,      VULCAN'S      PEAK.  87 

having  once  formed,  had  been  disturbed  by  the  action  of  the 
elements.  These  places  he  first  picked  to  pieces  with  his  pick ; 
then  he  stirred  them  well  up  with  a  hoe,  scattering  a  little  guano 
in  the  heaps,  according  to  the  directions  of  Betts.  When  this 
was  done,  he  sent  down  the  bucket  and  hauled  up  the  sweep- 
ings of  the  deck,  which  Bob  had  ready  for  him  below.  Nor 
was  this  all  Bob  had  done,  during  the  hour  Mark  was  at  work, 
in  the  sun,  on  the  summit  of  the  crater.  He  had  found  a  large 
deposit  of  sea- weed,  on  a  rock  near  the  island,  and  had  made 
two  or  three  trips  with  the  dingui,  back  and  forth,  to  transfer 
some  of  it  to  the  crater.  After  all  his  toil  and  trouble,  the 
worth}-  fellow  did  not  get  more  than  a  hogshead-full  of  this  new 
material,  but  Mark  thought  it  well  worth  while  to  haul  it  up,  and 
to  endeavor  to  mix  it  with  his  compost.  This  was  done  by 
making  it  up  in  bundles,  as  one  would  roll  up  hay,  of  a  size 
that  the  young  man  could  manage. 

Bob  now  joined  his  friend  on  the  crater-wall,  and  assisted  in 
carrying  the  sea-weed  to  the  places  prepared  to  receive  it,  when 
both  of  the  mariners  next  set  about  mixing  it  up  with  the  other 
ingredients  of  the  intended  soil.  After  working  for  another 
hour  in  this  manner,  they  were  of  opinion  that  they  might 
make  the  experiment  of  putting  in  the  seed.  Melons,  of  both 
sorts,  and  of  the  very  best  quality,  were  now  put  into  the 
ground,  as  were  also  beans,  peas,  and  Indian-corn,  or  maize. 
A  few  cucumber  seeds  and  some  onions  were  also  tried,  Cap- 
tain Orutchely  having  brought  with  him  a  considerable  quantity 
of  the  common  garden  seeds,  as  a  benefit  conferred  on  the  na- 
tives of  the  islands  he  intended  to  visit,  and,  through  them,  on 
future  navigators.  This  care  proceeded  from  his  owners,  who 
were  what  is  called  "  Friends,"  and  who  somewhat  oddly  blend- 
ed benevolence  with  the  practices  of  worldly  gain. 

Mark  certainly  knew  very  little  of  gardening,  but  Bob  could 
turn  his  hand  to  almost  any  thing.  Several  mistakes  were 
made,  notwithstanding,  more  particularly  in  the  use  of  the 
seed,  with  which  they  were  not  particularly  acquainted,  Mark's 
Reef  lay  just  within  the  tropics,  it   is  true  (in  21°  south  lati- 


88  thecrater: 

tude),  but  the  constant  sea-breeze  rendered  its  climate  much 
cooler  than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case.  Thus  the  peas, 
and  beans,  and  even  the  onions,  did  better,  perhaps,  on  the  top 
of  the  crater,  than  they  would  have  done  in  it ;  but  the  ochre, 
egg-plants,  melons,  and  two  or  three  other  seeds  that  they  used, 
would  probably  have  succeeded  better  had  they  been  placed  in 
the  warmest  spots  which  could  be  found.  In  one  respect  Mark 
made  a  good  gardener.  He  knew  that  moisture  was  indispen- 
sable to  the  growth  of  most  plants,  and  had  taken  care  to  put 
all  his  seeds  into  cavities,  where  the  rain  that  fell  (and  he  had 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  dry  season  had  yet  set  in)  would 
not  run  off  and  be  wasted.  On  this  point  he  manifested  a  good 
deal  of  judgment,  using  his  hoe  in  a  way  to  avoid  equally  the 
danger  of  having  too  much  or  too  little  water. 

It  was  dinner-time  before  Mark  and  Betts  were  ready  to  quit 
the  "  Summit,"  as  they  now  began  to  term  the  only  height  in 
their  solitary  domains.  Bob  had  foreseen  the  necessity  of  a 
shade,  and  had  thrown  an  old  royal  into  the  boat.  With  this, 
and  two  or  three  light  spars,  he  contrived  to  make  a  sort  of 
canopy,  down  in  the  crater,  beneath  which  he  and  Mark  dined, 
and  took  their  siestas.  While  resting  on  a  spare  studding-sail 
that  had  also  been  brought  along,  the  mariners  talked  over  what 
they  had  done,  and  what  it  might  be  best  to  undertake  next. 

Thus  far  Mark  had  beet  working  under  a  species  of  excite- 
ment, that  was  probably  natural  enough  to  his  situation,  but 
which  wanted  the  coolness  and  discretion  that  are  necessary  to 
render  our  efforts  the  most  profitable  to  ourselves,  or  to  others. 
Now  that  the  feverish  feeling  which  set  him  at  work  so  early 
to  make  a  provision  against  wants  which,  at  the  worst,  were 
merely  problematical,  had  subsided,  Mark  began  to  see  that 
there  remained  many  things  to  do,  which  were  of  even  more 
pressing  necessity  than  any  thing  yet  done.  Among  the  first 
of  these  there  was  the  perfect  security  of  the  ship.  So  long  as 
she  rode  at  a  single  anchor,  she  could  not  be  considered  as 
absolutely  safe  ;  for  a  shift  .of  wind  would  cause  her  to  swing 
against  the  "  sea-wall,"  as  he  called  the  natural  breakwater  out- 


OR,     VULCAN    S      PEAK.  89 

side  of  her,  where,  if  not  absolutely  wrecked,  she  might  receive 
material  damage.  Prudence  required,  therefore,  that  the  ship 
should  be  moored,  as  well  as  anchored.  Nevertheless,  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  what  Mark  had  said  touching  the 
plants  growing  while  he  and  Bob  were  busy  at  other  matters ; 
and  this  thought,  of  itself,  formed  a  sufficient  justification  for 
what  he  had  just  done,  much  as  it  had  been  done  under  present 
excitement.  As  they  lay  under  the  shade  of  the  royal,  our 
mariners  discussed  these  matters,  and  matured  some  plans  for 
the  future. 

At  two  o'clock  Mark  and  Bob  resumed  their  work.      The 
latter  suggested  the  necessity  of  getting  food  and  water  ashore 
for  the  pigs,  as  an  act  that  humanity  imperiously  demanded  of 
them  ;  not  humanity  in  the  sense  of  feeling  for  our  kind,  but 
in  the  sense  in  which  we  all  ought  to  feel  for  animal  suffering, 
whether  endured  by  man  or  beast.     Mark  assented  as  to  the 
food,  but  was  of  opinion  a  thunder-shower  was  about  to  pass 
over  the  reef.     The  weather  certainly  did  wear  this  aspect,  and 
Bob  was  content  to  wait  the  result,  in  order  to  save  himself 
unnecessary  trouble.     As  for  the  pigs,  they  were  still  in  the 
crater,  rooting,  as  it  might  be  for  life  or  death,  though  nothing 
edible  had  as  yet  rewarded  them  for  their  toil.      Perhaps  they 
found  it  pleasant  to  be  thrusting  their  noses  into  something  that 
resembled  soil,  after  so  long  a  confinement  to  the  planks  of  a 
ship.     Seeing  them  at  work  iu  this  manner,  suggested  to  Mark 
to  try  another  experiment,  which  certainly  looked  far  enough 
ahead,  as  if  he  had  no  great  hopes  of  getting  off  the  island  for 
years  to  come.     Among  the  seeds  of  Captain  Crutchely  were 
those  of  oranges,  lemons,  limes,   shaddocks,  figs,  and  grapes ; 
all  plants  well  enough  suited  to  the  place,  if  there  were  only 
soil  to  nourish  them.     Now,  one  of  the  hogs  had  been  rooting, 
as  best  he  might,  just  under  the  wall,  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  crater,  making  a  long  row  of  little  hillocks  of  earthy  ashes, 
at  unequal  distances,  it  is  true,  but  well  enough  disposed  for  the* 
nature  of  the  different  fruits,  could  they  only  be  got  to  grow. 
Along  this  irregular  row  of  hillocks  did  Mark  bury  his  seeds, 


90  thecrater: 

willing  to  try  an  experiment  which  might  possibly  benefit  some 
other  human  being,  if  it  never  did  any  good  to  himself.  When 
this  was  done,  he  and  Betts  left  the  crater,  driving  the  hogs  out 
before  them. 

Having  made  his  plantation,  Mark  felt  a  natural  desire  to 
preserve  it.  He  got  the  royal,  therefore,  and  succeeded  in 
fastening  it  up  as  a  substitute  for  a  gate,  in  their  natural  gate- 
way. Had  the  pigs  met  with  any  success  in  rooting,  it  is  not 
probable  this  slight  obstacle  would  have  prevented  their  finding 
their  way,  again,  into  the  cavity  of  the  crater ;  but,  as  it  was, 
it  proved  all-sufficient,  and  the  sail  was  permitted  to  hang  be- 
fore the  hole,  until  a  more  secure  gate  was  suspended  in  its 
stead. 

The  appearances  of  the  thunder-shower  were  so  much  in- 
ci*eased  by  this  time,  that  our  mariners  hastened  back  to  the 
ship  in  order  to  escape  a  ducking.  They  had  hardly  got  on 
board  before  the  gust  came,  a  good  deal  of  water  falling,  though 
not  in  the  torrents  in  which  one  sometimes  sees  it  stream  down 
within  the  tropics.  In  an  hour,  it  was  all  over,  the  sun  coming 
out  bright  and  scorching,  after  the  passage  of  the  gust.  One 
thing  occurred,  however,  which  a*t  first  caused  both  of  the  sea- 
men a  good  deal  of  uneasiness,  and  again  showed  them  the 
necessity  there  was  for  mooring  the  ship.  The  wind  shifted 
from  the  ordinary  direction  of  the  trades,  during  the  squall,  to 
a  current  of  air  that  was  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  customary 
course.  This  caused  the  ship  to  swing,  and  brought  her  so  neai 
the  sea-wall,  that  once  or  twice  her  side  actually  rubbed  against 
it.  Mark  was  aware,  by  his  previous  sounding,  that  this  wall 
rather  impended  over  its  base,  being  a  part  of  an  old  crater,  be- 
yond a  question,  and  that  there  was  little  danger  of  the  vessel's 
hitting  the  bottom,  or  taking  harm  in  any  other  way  than  by 
friction  against  the  upper  part ;  but  this  friction  might  become 
too  rude,  and  finally  endanger  the  safety  of  the  vessel. 

As  soon  as  the  weather  became  fine,  however,  the  trades  re- 
turned, and  the  ship  swung  round  to  her  old  berth.  Bob  now 
suggested  the  expediency  of  carrying  out  their  heaviest  kedge 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  91 

ashore,  of  planting  it  in  the  rocks,  and  of  running  out  to  it  two 
or  three  parts  of  a  hawser,  to  which  a  line  of  planks  might  be 
lashed,  and  thus  give  them  the  means  of  entering  and  quitting 
the  ship,  without  having  recourse  to  the  dingui.  Mark  approved 
of  this  plan,  and,  it  requiring  a  raft  to  carry  ashore  the  kedge,  the 
dingui  being  so  light  they  were  afraid  to  trust  it,  it  was  decided 
to  commence  that  work  in  the  morning.  For  the  rest  of  the 
present  day,  nothing  further  was  done,  beyond  light  and  neces- 
sary jobs,  and  continuing  the  examination  of  the  island.  Mark 
was  curious  to  look  at  the  effect  of  the  shower,  both  in  reference 
to  his  plantations,  and  to  the  quantity  of  fresh  water  that  might 
have  lodged  on  the  reef.  It  was  determined,  therefore,  to  pass 
an  hour  or  two  ashore  before  the  night  shut  in  again. 

Previously  to  quitting  the  ship,  Bob  spoke  of  the  poultry. 
There  were  but  six  hens,  a  cock,  and  five  ducks,  left.  They 
were  all  as  low  in  flesh  and  spirits,  as  it  was  usual  to  find  birds 
that  have  been  at  sea  fifty  days,  and  the  honest  tar  proposed 
turning  them  all  adrift  on  the  reef,  to  make  their  own  living  in 
the  best  way  they  could.  Now  and  then  a  little  food  might  be 
put  in  their  way,  but  let  them  have  a  chance  for  their  lives. 
Mark  assented  at  once,  and  the  coops  were  opened.  Each  fowl 
was  carried  to  the  taffrail,  and  tossed  into  the  air,  when  it  flew 
down  upon  the  reef,  a  distance  of  a  couple  of  hundred  feet,  al- 
most as  a  matter  of  course.  Glad  enough  were  the  poor  things 
to  be  thus  liberated.  To  Mark's  surprise,  no  sooner  did  they 
reach  the  reef,  than  to  work  they  went,  and  commenced  picking 
up  something  with  the  greatest  avidity,  as  if  let  loose  in  the 
best-supplied  poultry-yard.  Confident  there  was  nothing  for 
even  a  hen  to  glean  on  the  rocks  when  he  left  there,  the  young 
man  could  not  account  for  this,  until,  turning  his  eyes  inboard, 
he  saw  the  ducks  doing  the  same  thing  on  deck.  Examining 
the  food  of  these  last-mentioned  animals,  he  found  there  were  a 
great  number  of  minute  mucilaginous  particles  on  the  deck, 
which,  no  doubt,  had  descended  with  the  late  rain,  and  which 
all  the  birds,  as  well  as  the  hogs,  seemed  eager  to  devour. 
Here,  then,  was  a  supply,  though  a  short  lived  one,  of  a  manna 


92  the    crater: 

suited  to  those  creatures,  which  might  render  them  happy  for  a 
few  hours,  at  least.  Bob  caught  the  ducks,  and  tossed  them 
overboard,  when  they  floundered  about  and  enjoyed  themselves 
in  a  way  that  communicated  a  certain  pleasure  even  to  the  deso- 
late and  shipwrecked  men  who  had  set  them  at  liberty.  Noth- 
ing with  life  now  remained  in  the  ship  but  the  goat,  and  Mark 
thought  it  best  not  to  turn  her  ashore  until  they  had  greater 
facilities  for  getting  the  necessary  food  to  her  than  the  dingui 
afforded.  As  she  was  not  likely  to  breed,  there  was  no  great 
use  in  keeping  this  animal  at  all,  to  say  nothing  of  the  means 
of  feeding  her,  for  any  length  of  time;  but  Mark  was  unwilling 
to  take  her  life,  since  Providence  had  brought  them  all  to  that 
place  in  company.  Then  he  thought  she  might  be  a  pretty  ob- 
ject leaping  about  the  cliffs  of  the  crater,  giving  the  island  a 
more  lively  and  inhabited  appearance,  though  he  foresaw  she 
might  prove  very  destructive  to  his  plantations,  did  his  vege- 
tables grow.  As  there  was  time  enough  to  decide  on  her  final 
fate,  it  was  finally  settled  she  should  be  put  ashore,  and  have  a 
comfortable  fortnight,  even  though  condemned  to  die  at  the  end 
of  that  brief  period. 

On  landing,  every  hole  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  was  found  filled 
with  fresh  water.  Betts  was  of  opinion  that  the  water-casks 
might  all  be  filled  with  the  water  which  was  thus  collected,  the 
fluid  having  seemingly  all  flowed  into  these  receptacles,  while 
little  had  gone  into  the  sea.  This  was  encouraging  for  the 
future,  at  any  rate  ;  the  want  of  water,  previously  to  this  shower, 
appearing  to  Mark  to  be  a  more  probable  occurrence  than  the 
want  of  food.  The  sea  might  furnish  the  last,  on  an  emergency, 
while  it  could  do  nothing  with  the  first.  But  the  manner  in 
which  the  ducks  were  enjoying  themselves,  in  these  fresh  pools, 
can  scarcely  be  imagined  !  As  Mark  stood  looking  at  them,  a 
doubt  first  suggested  itself  to  his  mind  concerning  the  propriety 
of  men's  doing  any  thing  that  ran  counter  to  their  instincts, 
with  any  of  the  creatures  of  God.  Pet-birds  in  cages,  birds 
that  were  created  to  fly,  had  always  been  disagreeable  to  him ; 
nor  did  he  conceive  it  to  be  any  answer  to  say  that  they  were 


or,    vulcan's    peat,  93 

born  in  cages,  and  had  never  known  liberty.  They  were  crea- 
ted with  an  instinct  for  flight,  and  intense  must  be  tbeir  long- 
ings to  indulge  in  the  power  which  nature  had  bestowed  on 
them.  In  the  cage  in  which  he  now  found  himself,  though  he 
could  run,  walk,  leap,  swim,  or  do  aught  that  nature  designed 
him  to  do,  in  the  way  of  mere  animal  exploits,  young  Mark 
felt  how  bitter  were  the  privations  he  was  condemned  to  suffer. 

The  rain  had  certainly  done  no  harm,  as  yet,  to  the  planting. 
All  the  hills  were  entire,  as  Mark  and  Bob  had  left  them,  though 
well  saturated  with  water.  In  a  few,  there  might  be  even  too 
much  of  the  element,  perhaps,  but  Mark  observed  that  a  tropical 
sun  would  soon  remove  that  objection.  His  great  apprehension 
was  that  he  had  commenced  his  gardening  too  late,  and  that 
the  dry  weather  might  set  in  too  soon  for  the  good  of  his 
vegetables  ;  if  any  of  them,  indeed,  ever  came  up  at  all.  Here 
was  one  good  soaking  secured,  at  all  events  ;  and,  knowing  the 
power  of  a  tropical  sun,  Mark  was  of  opinion  that  the  fate  of 
the  great  experiment  he  had  tried  would  soon  be  known.  Could 
he  succeed  in  producing  vegetation  among  the  dibris  of  the 
crater,  he  and  Bob  might  find  the  means  of  subsistence  during 
their  natural  lives  ;  but,  should  that  resource  fail  them,  all  their 
hopes  would  depend  on  being  able  to  effect  their  escape  in  a 
craft  of  their  own  construction.  In  no  case,  however,  but  that 
of  the  direst  necessity,  did  Mark  contemplate  the  abandonment 
of  his  plan  for  getting  back  to  the  inhabited  world,  his  country, 
and  his  bride  ! 

That  night  our  mariners  had  a  sounder  sleep  than  they  had 
yet  been  blest  with  since  the  loss  of  their  shipmates,  and  the 
accident  to  the  vessel  itself.  The  two  following  days  they 
p;i"cd  hi  securing  the  ship.  Bob  actually  made  a  very  respec- 
table catamaran,  or  raft,  out  of  the  spare  spars,  sawing  the  top- 
masts  and  !<>wer  yards  in  two,  for  that  purpose,  and  fastening 
them  together  with  ingenuity  and  strength,  by  means  of  lash- 
ings. But  Mark  hit  upon  an  expedient  for  getting  the  two 
hedges  ashore,  that  prevented  the  necessity  of  having  recourse 
to  the  raft  on  that  occasion.     These  hedges  lay  on  the  poop, 


94  the    crater: 

where  they  were  habitually  kept,  and  two  men  had  no  great 
difficulty  in  getting  them  over  the  stern,  suspended  by  stoppers. 
Now  Mark  had  ascertained  that  the  rock  of  the  Reef  rose  like 
a  wall,  being  volcanic,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  formation,  and 
that  the  ship  could  float  almost  anywhere  alongside  of  it. 
Aided  by  the  rake  of  the  stern  of  an  old-fashioned  Philadelphia- 
built  ship,  nothing  was  easier  than  to  veer  upon  the  cable,  let 
the  vessel  drop  in  to  the  island,  until  the  kedges  actually  hung 
over  the  rocks,  and  then  lower  the  last  down.  All  this  was 
done,  and  the  raft  was  reserved  for  other  purposes.  Notwith- 
standing the  facility  with  which  the  kedges  were  got  ashore,  it 
took  Mark  and  Bob  quite  half  a  day  to  plant  them  in  the  rock 
precisely  where  they  were  wanted.  When  this  was  accom- 
plished, however,  it  was  so  effectually  done  as  to.  render  the 
hold  even  greater  than  that  of  the  sheet-anchor.  The  stocks 
were  not  used  at  all,  but  the  kedges  were  laid  flat  on  the  rock, 
quite  near  to  each  other,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  the  flukes 
were  buried  in  crevices  of  the  lava,  giving  a  most  secure  hold, 
while  the  shanks  came  out  through  natural  grooves,  leading 
straight  toward  the  ship.  Six  parts  of  a  hawser  were  bent  to 
the  kedges,  three  to  each,  and  these  parts  were  held  at  equal 
distances  by  pieces  of  spars  ingeniously  placed  between  them, 
the  whole  being  kept  in  its  place  by  regular  stretchers,  that  were 
lashed  along  the  hawsers  at  distances  of  ten  feet,  giving  all  the 
parts  of  the  ropes  the  same  ievel.  Before  these  stretchers  were 
secured,  the  ship  was  hove  ahead  by  her  cable,  and  the  several 
parts  of  the  hawser  brought  to  an  equal  strain.  This  left  the 
vessel  about  a  hundred  feet  from  the  island,  a  convenient,  and, 
if  the  anchor  held,  a  safe  position  ;  though  Mark  felt  little 
fear  of  losing  the  ship  against  rocks  that  were  so  perpendicular 
and  smooth.  On  the  stretchers,  planks  were  next  laid  and 
lashed,  thus  making  a  clear  passage  between  the  vessel  -and  the 
•shore,  that  might  be  used  at  all  times,  without  recourse  to  the 
dingui ;  besides  mooring  the  ship  head  and  stern,  thereby  keep- 
ing  her  always  in  the  same  place,  and  the  same  position. 

The  business  of  securing  the  ship  occupied  nearly  two  days, 


OR,      VULCAN'S      PEAK.  95 

and  was  not  got  through  with  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  of  the  second  day.  It  was  Saturday,  and  Mark  had 
determined  to  make  a  good  beginning,  and  keep  all  their  Sab- 
baths, in  future,  as  holy  times,  set  apart  for  the  special  service 
of  the  Creator.  He  had  been  born  and  educated  an  Episcopa- 
lian, but  Bob  claimed  to  be  a  Quaker,  and  what  was  more,  he 
was  a  little  stiff  in  some  of  his  notions  on  the  opinion  of  his 
sect.  The  part  of  New  Jersey  in  which  Betts  was  born,  had 
many  persons  of  his  religious  persuasion,  and  he  was  not  only 
born,  but,  in  one  sense,  educated  in  their  midst ;  though  the 
early  age  at  which  he  went  to  sea  had  very  much  unsettled  his 
practice,  much  the  most  material  part  of  the  tenets  of  these 
good  persons.  When  the  two  knocked  off  work,  Saturday 
afternoon,  therefore,  it  was  with  an  understanding  that  the  next 
day  was  to  be  one  of  rest  in  the  sense  of  Christians,  and,  from 
that  time  henceforth,  that  the  Sabbath  was  to  be  kept  as  a  holy 
day.  Mark  had  ever  been  inclined  to  soberness  of  thought  on 
such  subjects.  His  early  engagement  to  Bridget  had  kept  him 
from  falling  into  the  ways  of  most  mariners,  and,  time  and 
again,  had  a  future  state  of  being  been  the  subject  of  discourse 
between  him  and  his  betrothed.  As  the  seasons  of  adversity 
are  those  in  which  men  are  the  most  apt  to  bethink  them  of 
their  duties  to  God,  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  one  of  this 
disposition,  thus  situated,  felt  renewed  demands  on  his  gratitude 
and  repentance. 

While  Mark,  in  this  frame  of  mind,  went  rambling  arouna 
his  narrow  domains,  Bob  got  the  dingui,  and  proceeded  with 
his  fishing-tackle  toward  some  of  the  naked  rocks,  that  lifted 
their  caps  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  in  a  north-westerly 
direction  from  the  crater.  Of  these  naked  rocks  there  were 
near  twenty,  all  within  a  mile  of  the  crater,  and  the  largest  of 
them  not  containing  more  than  six  or  eight  acres  of  dry  sur- 
face. Some  were  less  than  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  The 
great  extent  and  irregular  formation  of  the  reefs  all  around  the 
island,  kept  the  water  smooth,  for  some  distance,  on  all  sides 
of  it ;  and  it  was  only  when  the  rollers  were  sent  in  by  heavy 


96  the    crater: 

gales,  that  the  dingui  could  not  move  about,  in  this  its  proper 
sphere,  in  safety. 

Betts  was  very  fond  of  fishing,  and  could  pass  whole  days, 
fit  a  time,  in  that  quiet  amusement,  provided  he  had  a  sufficient 
supply  of  tobacco.  Indeed,  one  of  the  greatest  consolations 
this  man  possessed,  under  the  present  misfortune,  was  the  am- 
ple store  of  this  weed  which  was  to  be  found  in  the  ship. 
Every  man  on  board  the  Rancocus,  Mark  alone  excepted,  made 
use  of  tobacco  ;  and,  for  so  long  a  voyage,  the  provision  laid  in 
had  been  very  abundant.  On  this  occasion,  Bob  enjoyed  his 
two  favorite  occupations  to  satiety,  masticating  the  weed  while 
he  fished. 

With  Mark  it  was  very  different.  lie  was  fond  of  his  fowl- 
ing-piece, but  of  little  use  was  that  weapon  in  his  present  situa- 
tion. Of  all  the  birds  that  frequented  the  adjacent  rocks,  not 
one  was  of  a  sort  that  would  be  eaten,  unless  in  cases  of  famine. 
As  he  walked  over  the  island,  that  ♦afternoon,  his  companion 
was  the  goat,  which  had  been  driven  ashore  on  the  new  gang- 
way, and  was  enjoying  its  liberty  almost  as  much  as  the  ducks. 
As  the  animal  frisked  about  him,  accompanying  him  every- 
where in  his  walks,  Mark  was  reminded  of  the  goats  of  Crusoe, 
and  his  mind  naturally  adverted  to  the  different  accounts  of 
shipwrecks  of  which  he  had  read,  and  to.  a  comparison  be- 
tween his  own  condition  and  those  of  other  mariners  who  had 
been  obliged  to  make  their  homes,  for  a  time,  on  otherwise  un- 
inhabited islands. 

In  this  comparision,  Mark  saw  that  many  things  made  great- 
ly against  him,  on  the  one  hand  ;  while,  on  the  other,  there 
were  many  others  for  which  he  had  every  reason  to  be  pro- 
foundly grateful.  In  the  first  place,  this  island  was,  as  yet, 
totally  without  vegetation  of  every  kind.  It  had  neither  plant, 
shrub,  nor  tree.  In  this  he  suffered  a  great  privation,  and  it 
even  remained  to  be  proved  by  actual  experiment,  whether  he 
was  master  of  what  might  be  considered  the  elements  of  soil. 
It  occurred  to  him  that  something  like  vegetation  must  have 
shown  itself,  in  or  about  the  crater,  did  its  debris  contain  tie 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  97 

fertilizing  principle,  Mark  not  being  sufficiently  versed  in  the 
new  science  of  chemical  agriculture,  to  understand  that  the 
admixtures  of  certain  elements  might  bring  to  life  forces  that 
then  were  dormant.  Then  the  roof  had  no  water.  This  was 
a  very,  very  great  privation,  the  most  serious  of  all,  and  might 
prove  to  be  a  terrible  calamity.  It  is  true  that,  just  at  that 
moment,  there  was  a  shower  every  day,  and  sometimes  two  or 
three  of  them  ;  but  it  was  then  spring,  and  there  could  be  little 
reason  to  doubt  that  droughts  would  come  in  the  hot  and  dry 
season.  As  a  last  objection,  the  reef  had  no  great  extent,  and 
no  variety,  the  eye  taking  it  all  in  at  a  glance,  while  the  crater 
was  its  sole  relief  against  the  dullest  monotony.  Nor  was  there 
a  bit  of  wood,  or  fuel  of  any  sort  to  cook  with,  after  the  supply 
now  in  the  ship  should  be  exhausted.  Such  were  the  leading 
disadvantages  of  the  situation  in  which  our  mariners  were 
placed,  as  compared  with  those  into  which  most  other  ship- 
wrecked^ seamen  had  been  thrown. 

The  advantages,  on  the  other  hand,  Mark,  in  humble  grati- 
tude to  God,  admitted  to  be  very. great.  In  the  first  place,  the 
ship  and  all  she  contained  was  preserved,  giving  them  a  dwell- 
ing, clothes,  food,  and  water,  as  well  as  fuel,  for  a  long  time  to 
come  ;  possibly,  aided  by  what  might  be  gleaned  on  even  that 
naked  reef,  sufficient  to  meet  all  their  wants  for  the  duration 
of  a  human  life.  The  cargo  of  the  Rancocus  was  of  no  great 
extent,  and  of  little  value  in  a  civilized  country  ;  but  Mark 
knew  that  it  included  many  articles  that  would  be  of  vast  ser- 
vice where  he  was.  The  beads  and  coarse  trinkets  with  which 
it  had  been  intended  to  trade  with  the  savages,  were  of  no  use 
whatever,  it  is  true  ;  but  the  ship's  owners  were  pains-taking 
and  thoughtful  Quakers,  as  has  been  already  intimated,  who 
blended  with  great  shrewdness  in  the  management  of  their 
worldly  affairs,  a  certain  regard  to  benevolence  in  general,  and 
a  desire  to  benefit  their  species.  On  this  principle  they  had 
caused  a  portion  of  their  cargo  to  be  made  up,  sending,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  the  ruder  and  commoner  tools,  that  could  be  used 
by  a  people  without  domestic  animals,  a  small  supply  of  rugs, 
5 


98  the    crater: 

coarse  clothes,  coarse  earthenware,  and  a  hundred  similar 
things,  that  would  be  very  serviceable  to  any  who  knew  how 
to  use  them.  Most  of  the  seeds  came  from  these  thoughtful 
merchants. 

If  fresh  water  were  absolutely  wanting  on  the  reef,  it  rained 
a  good  deal ;  in  the  rainy  season  it  must  rain  for  a  few  weeks 
almost  incessantly,  and  the  numerous  cavities  in  the  ancient 
lava,  formed  natural  cisterns  of  great  capacity.  By  taking  the 
precaution  of  filling  up  the  water-casks  of  the  ship,  periodically, 
there  was  little  danger  of  suffering  for  the  want  of  this  great 
requisite.  It  is  true,  the  sweet,  cool,  grateful  draught,  that 
was  to  be  got  from  the  gushing  spring,  must  be  forgotten  ;  but 
rain  water  collected  in  clean  rock,  and  preserved  in  well- 
sweetened  casks,  was  very  tolerable  drinking  for  seamen.  Cap- 
tain Crutchely,  moreover,  had  a  filterer  for  the  cabin,  and 
through  it  all  the  water  used  there  was  habitually  passed. 

In  striking  the  balance  between  the  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  his  own  situation,  as  compared  with  that  of  other  ship- 
wrecked mariners,  Mark  confessed  that  he  had  quite  as  much 
reason  to  be  grateful  as  to  repine.  The  last  he  was  resolved 
not  to  do,  if  possible  ;  and  he  pursued  his  walk  in  a  more  calm 
and  resigned  mood  than  he  had  been  in  since  the  ship  entered 
among  the  shoals. 

Mark,  naturally  enough,  cast  his  eyes  around  him,  and  asked 
himself  the  question  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  domestic 
animals  they  had  now  all  landed.  The  hogs  might,  or  might 
not  be  of  the  greatest  importance  to  them,  as  their  residence 
on  the  island  was  or  was  not  protracted,  and  as  they  found  the 
means  of  feeding  them.  There  was  still  food  enough  in  the 
ship  to  keep  these  creatures  for  some  months,  and  food  that 
had  been  especially  laid  in  for  that  purpose  ;  but  that  food 
would  serve  equally  well  for  the  fowls,  and  our  young  man  \vas 
of  opinion,  that  eggs  would  be  of  more  importance  to  himself 
and  Betts,  than  hog's  flesh.  Then  there  was  the  goat ;  she 
would  soon  cease  to  be  of  any  use  at  all,  and  green  food  was 
not  to  be  had  for  her.     A  little  hay,  however,  remained  ;  and 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK. 


99 


Mark  was  fully  determined  that  Kitty,  as  the  playful  little  thing 
was  called,  should  live  at  least  as  long  as  that  lasted.  She  was 
fortunate  in  being  content  with  a  nourishment  that  no  other 
animal  wanted. 

Mark  could  see  absolutely  nothing  on  the  rocks  for  a  bird  to 
live  on,  yet  were  the  fowls  constantly  picking  up  something. 
They  probably  found  insects  that  escaped  his  sight ;  while  it 
was  certain  that  the  ducks  were  revelling  in  the  pools  of  fresh 
water,  of  which  there  might,  at  that  moment,  have  been  a  hun- 
dred on  the  reef.  As  all  these  creatures  were,  as  yet,  regularly 
fed  from  the  supplies  in  the  ship,  each  seemed  to  be  filled  with 
the  joy  of  existence  ;  and  Mark,  as  he  walked  amoug  them,  felt 
how  profound  ought  to  be  his  own  gratitude,  since  he  was  still 
in  a  state  of  being  which  admitted  of  a  consciousness  of  happi- 
ness so  much  beyond  any  thing  that  was  known  to  the  inferior 
animals  of  creation.  He  had  his  mind,  with  all  its  stores  gath- 
ered from  study  and  observation,  his  love  for  God,  and  his  hopes 
of  a  blessed  future,  ever  at  command.  Even  his  love  for  Bridget 
had  its  sweets,  as  well  as  its  sorrows.  It  was  grateful  to  think 
of  her  tenderness  to  himself,  her  beauty,  her  constancy,  of  which 
he  would  not  for  a  moment  doubt,  and  of  all  the  innocent  and 
delightful  converse  they  had  had  during  a  courtship  that  occu 
pied  so  much  of  their  brief  lives. 

Just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  Bob  returned  from  his  fishing 
excursion.  To  Mark's  surprise,  he  saw  that  the  dingui  floated 
almost  with  her  gunwale-to,  and  he  hastened  down  to  meet  his 
friend,  who  came  ashore  in  a  little  bay,  quite  near  the  gateway, 
and  in  which  the  rock  did  not  rise  as  much  like  a  wall  as  it  did 
on  most  of  the  exterior  of  the  reef.  Bob  had  caught  about  a 
dozen  fish,  some  of  which  were  of  considerable  size,  though  all 
were  either  of  species  or  varieties  that  were  unknown  to  them 
both.  Selecting  two  of  the  most  promising-looking  for  their 
own  use,  he  threw  the  others  on  the  rocks,  where  the  pigs  and 
poultry  might  give  them  a  trial.  Nor  was  it  long  before  these 
creatures  were  hard  at  work  on  them,  disregarding  the  scales 
and  fins.     At  first  the  hens  were  a  little  delicate,  probably  from 


100  the    crater: 

having  found  animal  food  enough  for  their  present  wants  in  the 
insects;  but,  long  before  the  game  was  demolished,  they  had 
come  in  for  their  full  share.  This  experiment  satisfied  the  mari- 
ners that  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  furnishing  plenty  of 
food  for  all  their  stock,  and  for  any  length  of  time,  Kitty  ex- 
cepted. It  is  true,  the  pork  and  the  poultry  would  be  some- 
what fishy  ;  but  that  would  be  a  novelty,  and,  should  it  prove 
disagreeable  on  tasting  it,  a  little  clean  feeding,  at  the  proper 
moment,  would  correct  the  flavor. 

But  the  principal  cargo  of  the  dingui  was  not  the  dozen  fish 
mentioned.  Bob  had  nearly  filled  the  boat  with  a  sort  of  vege- 
table loam,  that  he  had  found  lodged  in  the  cavity  of  one  of  the 
largest  rocks,  and  which,  from  the  signs  around  the  place,  he 
supposed  to  have  been  formed  by  deposits  of  sea-weed.  By 
an  accident  of  nature,  this  cavity  in  the  rock  received  a  current, 
which  carried  large  quantities  of  floating  weed  into  it,  while 
every  storm,  probably,  had  added  to  its  stores  since  the  mass 
had  risen  above  the  common  level  of  the  sea,  by  throwing  fresh 
materials  on  to  the  pile,  by  means  of  the  waves,  nothing  quit- 
ting it.  Bob  reported  that  there  were  no  signs  of  vegetation 
around  the  rock,  which  circumstance,  however,  was  easily 
enough  accounted  for,  by  the  salt  water  that  was  incessantly 
moistening  the  surface,  and  which,  while  it  took  with  it  the 
principle  of  future,  was  certain  to  destroy  all  present  vegetable 
life  ;  or  all  but  that  which  belongs  exclusively  to  aquatic  plants. 

"How  much  of  this  muck  do  you  suppose  is  to  be  found  on 
your  rock,  Bob  ?"  asked  Mark,  after  he  had  examined  the  din- 
gui's  cargo,  by  sight,  taste,  and  smell.  "It  is  surprisingly  like 
a  rich  earth,  if  it  be  not  actually  so." 

"  Lord  bless  you,  Mr.  Mark,  there  is  enough  on 't  to  fill  the 
old  'Cocus,  ag'in  and  ag'in.  How  deep  it  is,  I  don't  pretend  to 
know;  but  it's  a  good  hundred  paces  across  it,  and  the  spot  is 
as  round  as  that  there  chimbly,  that  you  call  a  cr'ature." 

"  If  that  be  the  case,  we  will  try  our  hands  at  it  next  week, 
and  see  what  can  be  done  with  an  importation.  I  do  not  give 
up  the  blessed  hope  of  the  boat,  Bob — that  you  will  always 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  101 

bear  in  mind — but  it  is  best  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  means  of 
living,  should  it  please  God  to  prevent  our  getting  to  sea 
again." 

"  To  sea,  Mr.  Mark,  neither  you  nor  I,  nor  any  mortal  man 
will  ever  get  in  the  old  'Cocus  ag'in,  as  I  know  by  the  looks  of 
things  outside  of  us.  'Twill  never  do  to  plant  in  my  patch, 
however,  for  the  salt  water  must  wash  it  whenever  it  blows  ; 
though  a  very  little  work,  too,  might  keep  it  out,  when  I  come 
to  think  on  it.  Sparrowgrass  would  grow  there,  as  it  is,  des- 
perately well ;  and  Friend  Abraham  White  had  both  seeds  and 
roots  put  up  for  the  use  of  the  savages,  if  a  body  only  know'd 
whereabouts  to  look  for  them,  among  the  lot  of  rubbish  of  that 
sort,  that  he  sent  aboard." 

"  All  the  seeds  and  roots  are  in  two  or  three  boxes,  in  the 
steerage,"  answered  Mark.  "  I'll  just  step  up  to  the  crater 
and  bring  a  shovel,  to  throw  this  loam  out  of  the  boat  with, 
while  you  can  clean  the  fish  and  cook  the  supper.  A  little 
fresh  food,  after  so  much  salt,  will  be  both  pleasant  and  good 
for  us." 

Bob  assented,  and  each  went  his  way.  Mark  threw  the 
loam  into  a  wheelbarrow,  of  which  Friend  Abraham  had  put  no 
less  than  three  in  the  ship,  as  presents  to  the  savages,  and  he 
wheeled  it,  at  two  or  three  loads,  into  the  crater,  where  he 
threw  it  down  in  a  pile,  intending  to  make  a  compost  of  all  the 
materials  of  the  sort  he  could  lay  his  hands  on. 

As  for  Bob,  he  cleaned  both  fish,  taking  them  on  board  the 
ship  to  do  so.  He  put  the  largest  and  coarsest  into  the  cop- 
pers, after  cutting  it  up,  mixing  it  with  onions,  pork,  and  ship's 
bread,  intending  to  start  a  fire  beneath  it  early  in  the  morning, 
and  cook  a  sort  of  chowder.  The  other  he  fried,  Mark  and  ho 
making  a  most  grateful  meal  on  it,  that  evening. 


102  THE      CRATER 


CHAPTER  VII. 

*  Bo  thou  at  peace  I — Th'  all-seeing  eye, 
Pervading  earth,  and  air,  and  sky, 
The  searching  glance  which  none  may  flee, 
Is  still,  in  mercy,  turn'd  on  thee." 

Mbs.  11  kmans. 

The  Sabbath  ever  dawns  on  the  piously-inclined,  with  hope 
and  a  devout  gratitude  to  the  Creator  for  all  his  mercies.  This 
is  more  apt  to  be  the  case  in  genial  seasons,  and  rural  abodes, 
perhaps,  than  amidst  the  haunts  of  men,  and  when  the  thoughts 
are  diverted  from  the  proper  channels  by  the  presence  of  per- 
sons around  us.  Still  greater  is  the  influence  of  absolute  soli- 
tude, and  that  increased  by  the  knowledge  of  a  direct  and  visi- 
ble dependence  on  the  providence  of  God,  for  the  means  of 
even  prolonging  existence.  In  the  world,  men  lose  sight  of  this 
dependence,  fancying  themselves  and  their  powers  of  more  ac- 
count than  the  truth  would  warrant,  and  even  forgetting  whence 
these  very  boasted  powers  are  derived ;  but  man,  when  alone, 
and  in  critical  circumstances,  is  made  to  feel  that  he  is  not  suffi- 
cient for  his  own  wants,  and  turns  with  humility  and  hope  to 
the  divine  hand  that  upholds  him. 

With  feelings  of  this  character,  did  Mark  and  Betts  keep  their 
first  Sabbath  on  the  reef.  The  former  read  the  morning  service, 
from  beginning  to  end,  while  the  latter  sat  by,  an  attentive 
listener.  The  only  proof  given  of  any  difference  in  religious 
faith  between  our  mariners,  was  o'f  so  singular  a  nature  as  to 
merit  notice.  Notwithstanding  Bob's  early  familiarity  with 
Mark,  his  greater  age,  and  the  sort  of  community  of  feeling  and 
interest  created  by  their  common  misfortune,  the  former  had 
not  ceased  to  treat  the  last  with  the  respect  due  to  his  office. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  103 

This  deference  never  deserted  him,  and  he  had  not  once  since 
the  ship  was  embayed,  entered  the  cabin  without  pulling  off  his 
hat.  As  soon  as  church  commenced,  however,  Bob  resumed 
his  tarpauling,  as  a  sort  of  sign  of  his  own  orthodox)"  in  the 
faith  of  his  fathers  ;  making  it  a  point  to  do  as  they  had  done  in 
meeting,  and  slightly  concerned  lest  his  companion  might  fall 
into  the  error  of  supposing  he  was  a  man  like!^  to  be  convert- 
ed. Mark  also  observed  that,  in  the  course  ot  that  Sabbath, 
Bob  used  the  pronouns  "thee"  and  "thou"  on  two  or  three  oc- 
casions, sounding  oddly  enough  in  the  mouth  of  the  old  salt. 

Well  did  both  our  mariners  prove  the  efficacy  of  the  divine 
provision  of  a  day  of  rest,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  on  the  occasion 
of  this,  their  first  Sabbath  on  the  reef.  Mark  felt  far  more  re- 
signed to  his  fate  than  he  could  have  believed  possible,  while 
Betts  declared  that  he  should  be  absolutely  happy,  had  he  only 
a  better  boat  than  the  dingui ;  not  that  the  dingui  was  at  all  a 
bad  craft  of  its  kind,  but  it  wanted  size.  After  the  religious  ser- 
vices, for  which  both  our  mariners  had  shaved  and  dressed, 
they  took  a  walk  together,  on  the  reef,  conversing  of  their 
situation  and  future  proceedings.  Bob  then  told  Mark,  for  the 
first  time,  that,  in  his  opinion,  there  was  the  frame  and  the 
other  materials  of  a  pinnace,  or  a  large  boat,  somewhere  in  the 
hold,  which  it  was  intended  to  put  together,  when  the  ship 
reached  the  islands,  as  a  convenience  for  cruising  about  among 
them  to  trade  with  the  savages,  and  to  transport  sandal-wood. 
The  mate  had  never  heard  of  this  boat,  but  acknowledged  that 
a  part  of  the  hold  had  been  stowed  while  he  was  up  at  Bristol, 
and  it  might  have  been  taken  in  then.  Bob  confessed  that  he 
had  never  seen  it,  though  he  had  worked  in  the  stevedore's 
gang ;  but  was  confident  he  had  heard  Friend  Abraham  White 
and  Captain  Crutchely  talking  of  its  dimensions  and  uses. 
According  to  his  recollection  it  was  to  be  a  boat  consideraUy 
larger  than  the  launch,  and  to  be  fitted  with  masts  and  sails, 
and  to  have  a  half-deck.  Mark  listened  to  all  this  patiently, 
though  he  firmly  believed  that  the  honest  fellow  was  deceiving 
himself  the  whole  time.   Such  a  craft  could  scarcely-  be  in  the  ship, 


104  the    crater: 

and  he  not  hear  of  it,  if  he  did  not  actually  see  it ;  though  he 
thought  it  possible  that  the  captain  and  owners  may  have  had 
some  such  plan  in  contemplation,  and  conversed  together  on  it, 
in  Betts'  presence.  As  there  were  plenty  of  tools  on  board, 
however,  by  using  stuff  of  one  sort  or  another,  that  was  to  be 
found  in  the  ship,  Mark  had  strong  hopes  of  their  being  able, 
between  them,  to  construct,  in  the  course  of  time — though  lie 
believed  a  long  time  might  be  necessary — a  craft  of  some  sort, 
that  should  be  of  sufficient  stability  to  withstand  the  billows  of 
that  ordinarily  mild  sea,  and  enable  them  to  return  to  their 
homes  and  friends.  In  conversing  of  things  of  this  sort,  in 
religious  observances,  and  in  speculating  on  the  probable  fate 
of  their  shipmates,  did  our  mariners  pass  this  holy  day.  Bob 
was  sensibly  impressed  with  the  pause  in  their  ordinary  pur- 
suits, and  lent  himself  to  the  proper  feelings  of  the  occasion 
with  a  zeal  and  simplicity  that  gave  Mark  great  satisfaction; 
for,  hitherto,  while  aware  that  his  friend  was  as  honest  a  fellow 
as  ever  lived,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  such  a  phrase,  he 
had  not  supposed  him  in  the  least  susceptible  of  religious  im- 
pressions. But  the  world  had  suddenly  lost  its  hold  on  Betts, 
the  barrier  offered  by  the  vast  wraters  of  the  Pacific  being  al- 
most as  impassable,  in  his  actual  circumstances,  as  that  of  the 
grave;  and  the  human  heart  turns  to  God  in  its  direst  distress 
as  to  the  only  being  who  can  administer  relief.  It  is  when  men 
are  prosperous  that  they  vainly  imagine  they  are  sufficient  for 
their  own  wants,  and  are  most  apt  to  neglect  the  hand  that  alone 
can  give  durable  support. 

The  following  morning  our  mariners  resumed  their  more 
worldly  duties  with  renewed  powers.  While  the  kettle  was 
boiling  for  their  tea,  they  rolled  ashore  a  couple  of  empty  water 
casks,  and  filled  them  with  fresh  water  at  one  of  the  largest 
natural  reservoirs  on  the  reef;  it  having  rained  hard  in  the 
night.  After  breakfast,  Mark  walked  round  to  examine  his 
piles  of  loam,  in  the  crater,  while  Bob  pulled  away  in  the  din- 
gui,  to  catch  a  few  fish,  and  to  get  a  new  cargo  of  the  earth ; 
it  being  the  intention  of  Mark  to  join  hiua  at  the  next  trip,  with 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  105 

the  raft,  which  required  some  little  arranging,  however,  pre- 
viously to  its  being  used  for  such  a  purpose.  The  rain  of  the 
past  night  had  thoroughly  washed  the  pile  of  earth,  and,  on 
tasting  it,  Mark  was  convinced  that  much  of  the  salt  it  con- 
tained had  been  carried  off.  This  encouraged  him  to  perse- 
vere in  his  gardening  projects.  As  yet,  the  spring  had  only 
just  commenced,  and  he  was  in  hopes  of  being  able  to  prepare 
one  bed,  at  least,  in  time  to  obtain  useful  vegetables  from  it. 

The  Rancocus  had  a  great  many  planks  and  boards  in  her 
hold,  a  part  of  the  ample  provision  made  by  her  owners  for  the 
peculiar  voyage  on  which  she  had  been  sent.  Of  real  cargo, 
indeed,  she  had  very  little,  the  commerce  between  the  civilized 
man  and  the  savage,  being,  ordinarily,  on  those  great  principles 
of  free  trade,  of  which  so  much  is  said  of  late  years,  while  so 
little  is  understood,  and  which  usually  give  the  lion's  share  of 
the  profit  to  them  who  need  it  least.  With  some  of  these 
planks  Mark  made  a  staging  for  his  raft.  By  the  time  he  was 
ready,  Bob  returned  with  a  load  of  loam,  and  on  the  next  out- 
ward voyage  the  raft  was  taken  as  well  as  the  dingui.  Mark 
had  fitted  pins  and  grummets,  by  which  the  raft  was  rowed,  he 
and  Bob  impelling  it,  when  light,  very  easily  at  the  rate  of  two 
miles  in  the  hour. 

Mark  found  Betts'  deposit  of  decayed  vegetable  matter  even 
larger  and  more  accessible  than  he  had  hoped  for.  A  hundred 
loads  might  be  got  without  even  using  a  wheelbarrow  ;  and,  to 
all  appearances,  there  was  enough  of  it  to  give  a  heavy  dressing 
to  many  acres,  possibly  to  the  whole  area  of  the  crater.  The 
first  thing  the  young  man  did  was  to  choose  a  suitable  place, 
dig  it  well  up,  mixing  a  sufficiency  of  guano  with  it,  agreeably 
to  Betts'  directions,  and  then  to  put  in  some  of  his  asparagus 
roots.  After  this  he  scattered  a  quantity  of  the  seed,  raking 
the  ground  well  after  sowing.  By  the  time  this  was  done,  Bob 
had  both  dingui  and  raft  loaded,  when  they  pulled  the  last  back 
to  the  reef,  towing  the  boat.  In  this  manner  our  two  mariners 
continued  to  work  most  of  the  time,  for  the  next  fortnight,  mak- 
ing, daily,  more  or  less  trips  to  the  "Loam  Rock,"  as  they  called 
5* 


100  THE      CRATE  R: 

the  place  where  this  precious  deposit  had  been  made ;  though 
they  neglected  none  of  their  other  necessary  duties.  As  the 
distance  was  short,  they  could  come  and  go  many  times  in  a 
day,  transporting,  at  each  trip,  about  as  much  of  the  loam  as 
would  make  an  ordinary  American  cart-load  of  manure.  In  the 
whole,  by  Mark's  computation, .  they  got  across  about  fifty  of 
these  cargoes,  in  the  course  of  their  twelve  days'  work.  The 
entire  day,  however,  was  on  no  occasion  given  up  wholly  to 
this  pursuit.  On  the  contrary,  many  little  odd  tasks  were  com- 
pleted, which  were  set  by  their  necessities,  or  by  forethought 
and  prudence.  All  the  empty  water-casks,  for  one  thing,  were 
rolled  ashore,  and  filled  at  the  largest  pool ;  the  frequency  of 
the  rains  admonishing  them  of  the  wisdom  of  making  a  provis- 
ion for  the  dry  season.  The  Rancocus  had  a  good  deal  of  wa- 
ter still  left  in  her,  some  of  it  being  excellent  Delaware  river 
water,  though  she  had  filled  up  at  Valparaiso,  after  passing  the 
Horn.  Mark  counted  the  full  casks,  and  allowing  ten  gallons  a 
day  for  Bob  and  himself,  a  good  deal  more  than  could  be  want- 
ed, there  remained  in  the  ship  fresh  water  enough  to  last  them 
two  years.  It  is  true,  it  was  not  such  water  as  the  palate  often 
craved  of  a  warm  day ;  but  they  were  accustomed  to  it,  and  it 
was  sweet.  By  keeping  it  altogether  between  decks,  the  sun 
had  no  power  on  it,  and  it  was  even  more  palatable  than  might 
have  been  supposed.  Mark  occasionally  longed  for  one  good 
drink  at  some  gushing  spring  that  he  remembered  at  home,  it  is 
true  ;  and  Bob  was  a  little  in  the  habit  of  extolling  a  particular 
well  that,  it  would  seem,  his  family  were  reputed  to  have  used 
for  several  generations.  Notwithstanding  these  little  natural 
backslidings  on  this  subject,  our  mariners  might  be  thought  well 
off  o'n  the  score  of  water,  having  it  in  great  abundance,  and 
with  no  reasonable  fear  of  ever  losing  it  altogether.  The  casks 
taken  ashore  were  filled  for  their  preservation,  as  well  as  for  con- 
venience, an  old  sail  being  spread  over  them  after  they  were 
rolled  together  and  chocked.  As  yet,  no  water  was  given  to 
any  of  the  stock,  all  the  animals  finding  it  in  abundance  in  the 
cavities  of  the*  lava. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  10*7 

Some  of  the  time,  moreover,  Betts  passed  in  fishing,  supply- 
ing not  only  Mark  and  himself,  but  the  pigs  and  the  poultry, 
with  as  much  food  as  was  desired.  Several  of  the  fish  caught 
turned  out  to  be  delicious,  while  others  were  of  a  quality  that 
caused  them  to  be  thrown  into  the  compost  heap.  A  cargo  of 
guano  was  also  imported,  the  rich  manure  being  mixed  up  in 
liberal  quantities  with  the  loam.  At  the  end  of  the  first  week 
of  these  voyages  to  Loam  Rock,  Betts  went  out  to  fish  in  a 
new  direction,  passing  to  windward  of  the  "sea-wall,"  as  they 
called  the  reef  that  protected  the  ship,  and  pulling  toward  a  bit 
of  naked  rock  a  short  distance  beyond  it,  where  he  fancied  he 
might  find  a  particular  sort  of  little  fish,  that  greatly  resembled 
the  Norfolk  hog-fish,  one  of  the  most  delicious  little  creatures 
for  the  pan  that  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  finny  tribe.  He  had 
been  gone  a  couple  of  hours,  when  Mark,  who  was  at  work 
within  the  crater,  picking  up  the  encrusted  ashes  that  formed  its 
surface,  heard  Bob's  shout  outside,  as  if  he  wished  assistance. 
Throwing  down  the  pick,  our  young  man  ran  out,  and  was  not 
a  little  surprised  to  see  the  sort  of  cargo  with  which  Bob  was 
returning  to  port. 

It  would  seem  that  a  great  collection  of  sea-weed  had  formed 
to  windward  of  the  rock  where  Bob  had  gone  to  fish,  at  which 
spot  it  ordinarily  gathered  in  a  pile,  until  the  heap  became 
too  large  to  lodge  any  longer,  when,  owing  to  the  form  of  the 
rock,  it  invariably  broke  adrift,  and  passed  to  the  southward 
of  the  reef,  floating  to  leeward,  to  fetch  up  on  some  other 
rock,  or  island,  in  that  direction.  Bob  had  managed  to  get 
this  raft  round  a  particular  point  in  the  reef,  when  the  wind 
and  current  carried  it,  as  near  as  might  be,  directly  toward  the 
crater.  He  was  calling  to  Mark  to  come  to  his  assistance,  to 
help  get  the  raft  into  a  sort  of  bay  ahead  of  him,  where  it 
might  be  lodged;  else  would  there  be  the  danger  of  its  drifting 
past  the  reef,  after  all  his  pains.  Our  young  man  saw,  at  once, 
what  was  wanted,  got  a  line,  succeeded  in  throwing  it  to  Bob, 
and,  by  hauling  upon  it,  brought  the  whole  mass  ashore  in  the 
very  spot  Betts  wished  to  see  it  landed. 


108  the    crater: 

This  sea-weed  proved  to  be  a  great  acquisition  on  more  ac- 
counts than  one.  There  "was  as  much  of  it  in  quantity  as  would 
have  made  two  good-sized  loads  of  hay.  Then,  many  small 
shell-fish  were  found  among  it,  which  the  pigs  and  poultry  ate 
with  avidity.  It  also  contained  seeds,  that  the  fowls  picked  up 
as  readily  as  if  it  had  been  corn.  The  hogs,  moreover,  masticated 
a  good  deal  of  the  weed,  and  poor  Kitty,  the  only  one  of  the 
domestic  animals  on  the  reef  that  was  not  living  to  its  heart's 
content,  nibbled  at  it,  with  a  species  of  half-doubting  faith  in 
its  salubrity.  Although  it  was  getting  to  be  late  in  the  after- 
noon, Mark  and  Bob  got  two  of  Friend  Abraham  White's  pitch- 
forks  (for  the  worthy  Quaker  had  sent  these,  among  other  im 
plements  of  husbandry,  as  a  peace-offering  to  the  Feejee  sav- 
ages), and  went  to  work  with  a  hearty  good  will,  landed  all  this 
weed,  loaded  it  up,  and  wheeled  it  into  the  crater,  leaving  just 
enough  outside  to  satisfy  the  pigs  and  the  poultry.  This  task 
concluded  the  first  week  of  the  labor  already  mentioned. 

At  the  termination  of  the  second  week,  Mark  and  Betts  held 
a  council  on  the  subject  of  their  future  proceedings.  At  this 
consultation  it  was  decided  that  it  would  be  better  to  finish  the 
picking  up  of  a  considerable  plot  of  ground,  one  of  at  least  half 
an  acre  in  extent,  that  was  already  commenced,  within  the 
crater,  scatter  their  compost  over  it,  and  spade  all  up  together, 
and  plant,  mixing  in  as  much  of  the  sea  weed  as  they  could 
conveniently  spade  under.  Notwithstanding  their  success  in 
finding  the  loam,  and  this  last  discovery  of  a  means  of  getting 
sea- weed  in  large  supplies  to  the  reef,  Mark  was  not  very  san- 
guine of  success  in  his  gardening.  The  loam  appeared  to  him 
to  be  cold  and  sour,  as  well  as  salt,  though  a  good  deal  freshen- 
ed by  the  rain  since  it  was  put  in  the  crater ;  and  he  knew 
nothing  of  the  effects  of  guano,  except  through  the  somewhat 
confused  accounts  of  Bob.  Then  the  plain  of  the  crater  offered 
nothing  besides  a  few  coarse  and  shelly  ashes.  These  ashes  were 
deep  enough  for  any  agricultural  purpose,  it  is  true,  for  Mark 
could  work  a  crowbar  down  into  them  its  entire  length ;  but 
they  appeared  to  him  to  be  totally  wanting  in  the  fertilizing 


OR,      VULCAN     S      PEAK 


109 


principle.  Nor  could  he  account  for  the  absence  of  every  thing 
like  vegetation,  on  or  about  the  reef,  if  the  elements  of  plants 
of  any  sort  were  to  be  found  in  the  substances  of  which  it  was 
composed.  He  had  read,  however,  that  the  territory  around  ac- 
tive volcanoes,  and  which  was  far  enough  removed  from  the 
vent  to  escape  from  the  destruction  caused  by  lava,  scoriae,  and 
heat,  was  usually  highly  fertile,  in  consequence  of  the  ashes  and 
impalpable  dust  that  was  scattered  in  the  air ;  but,  seeiug  no 
proofs  of  any  such  fertility  here,  he  supposed  that  the  adjacent 
sea  had  swallowed  up  whatever  there  might  have  been  of  these 
bountiful  gifts.  With  these  impressions,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  Mark  was  disposed  to  satisfy  himself  with  a  moderate  be- 
ginning, in  preference  to  throwing  away  time  and  labor  in 
endeavoring  to  produce  resources  which,  after  all,  would  fail 
them. 

Mark's  plan,  as  laid  before  his  companion,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  council  mentioned,  was  briefly  this :  he  proposed  to 
pass  the  next  month  in  preparing  the  half  acre  they  had  com- 
menced upon,  and  in  getting  in  seed  ;  after  which  they  could 
do  no  more  than  trust  their  husbandry  to  Providence  and  the 
seasons.  As  soon  as  done  with  the  tillage,  it  was  his  idea  that 
they  ought  to  overhaul  the  ship  thoroughly,  ascertain  what  was 
actually  in  her,  and,  if  the  materials  of  the  boat  mentioned  by 
Betts  were  really  to  be  found,  to  set  that  craft  up  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  to  get  it  into  the  water.  Should  they  not  find  the 
frame  and  planks  of  the  pinnace,  as  Betts  seemed  to  think  they 
would,  they  must  go  to  work  and  get  out  the  best  frame  they 
could  themselves,  and  construct  such  a  craft  as  their  own  skill 
could  contrive.  After  building  such  a  boat,  it  was  Mark's 
opinion  that  he  and  Bob  could  navigate  her  across  that  tran- 
quil ocean,  until  they  reached  the  coast  of  South  America,  or 
some  of  the  islands  that  were  known  to  be  friendly  t<>  the 
white  man;  for,  fifty  years  ago,  it  will  be  remembered,  we  'lid 
not  possess  the  same  knowledge  of  the  Pacific  that  we  possess 
to-day,  and  manners  did  nut  trust  themselves  always  with  con- 
fidence among  the  natives  of  its  islands.     With  this  plan  pretty 


110  the    crater: 

well  sketched  out,  then,  our  mariners  saw  the  first  month  of 
their  captivity  among  the  unknown  reefs  of  this  remote  quarter 
of  the  world,  draw  to  its  close. 

Mark  was  a  little  surprised  by  a  proposal  that  he  received 
from  Bob,  next  morning,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  of  course. 
"  Friends  have  monthly  meetings,"  Betts  observed,  "  and  he 
thought  they  ought  to  set  up  some  such  day  on  the  reef.  He 
was  willing  to  keep  Christmas,  if  Mark  saw  fit,  but  rather 
wished  to  pay  proper  respect  to  all  the  festivals  and  observances 
of  Friends."  Mark  was  secretly  amused  with  this  proposition, 
even  while  it  pleased  him.  The  monthly  meeting  of  the 
Quakers  was  for  the  secular  part  of  church  business,  as  much  as 
for  the  purposes  of  religious  worship  ;  and  Bob  having  all  those 
concerns  in  his  own  hands,  it  was  not  so  easy  to  see  how  a 
stated  day  was  to  aid  him  any  in  carrying  out  his  church  gov- 
ernment. But  Mark  understood  the  feeling  which  dictated 
this  request,  and  was  disposed  to  deal  gently  by  it.  Betts  was 
becoming  daily  more  and  more  conscious  of  his  dependence  on 
a  Divine  Providence,  in  the  situation  in  which  he  was  thrown  ; 
and  his  mind,  as  well  as  his  feelings,  naturally  enough  reverted 
to  early  impressions  and  habits,  in  their  search  for  present  re- 
lief. Bob  had  not  the  clearest  notions  of  either  the  theory  or 
practice  of  his  sect,  but  he  remembered  much  of  the  last,  and 
believed  he  should  be  acting  right  by  conforming  as  closely  as 
possible  to  the  "usages  of  Friends."  Mark  promised  to  take 
the  matter  into  consideration,  and  to  come  to  some  decision  on 
it,  at  an  early  day. 

The  following  Monday  it  rained  nearly  the  whole  morning, 
confining  our  mariners  to  the  ship.  They  took  that  occasion 
to  overhaul  the  "  'twixt-deck"  more  thoroughly  than  had  yet 
been  done,  and  particularly  to  give  the  seed-boxes  a  close  ex- 
amination. Much  of  the  lumber,  and  most  of  the  tools,  too, 
were  stowed  on  this  deck,  and  something  like  a  survey  wa3 
also  made  of  them.  The  frame  and  other  materials  of  the  pin- 
nace were  looked  for,  in  addition,  but  without  any  success.  If 
in  the  ship  at  all,  they  were  certainly  not  betwixt  decks.    Mark 


ob,    vulcan's    peak.  Ill 

was  still  of  opinion  no  such  articles  would  ever  be  found  ;  but 
Betts  insisted  on  the  conversation  lie  had  overheard,  and  on  his 
having  rightly  understood  it.  The  provision  of  tools  was  very 
ample,  and,  in  some  respects,  a  little  exaggerated,  in  the  way  of 
Friend  White's  expectations  of  civilizing  the  people  of  Feejee. 
It  may  be  well,  here,  to  say  a  word  concerning  the  reason  that 
the  Rancocus  contained  so  many  of  these  tributes  to  civiliza- 
tion. The  voyage  of  the  ship,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  in 
quest  of  sandal-wood.  This  sandal-wood  was  to  be  carried  to 
Canton  and  sold,  and  a  cargo  of  teas  taken  in  with  the  avails. 
Now,  sandal-wood  was  supposed  to  be  used  for  the  purposes 
of  idolatry,  being  said  to  be  burned  before  the  gods  of  that 
heathenish  people.  Idolatry  being  one  of  the  chiefcst  of  all 
sins,  Friend  Abraham  White  had  many  compunctions  and  mis- 
givings of  conscience  touching  the  propriety  of  embarking  in 
the  trade  at  all.  It  was  true,  that  our  knowledge  of  the  Chi- 
nese customs  did  not  extend  far  enough  to  render  it  certain  that 
the  wood  was  used  for  the  purpose  of  burning  before  idols, 
some  pretending  it  was  made  into  ornamental  furniture  ;  but 
Friend  Abraham  White  had  heard  the  first,  and  was  disposed 
to  provide  a  set-off,  in  the  event  of  the  report's  being  true,  by 
endeavoring  to  do  something  toward  the  civilization  of  the 
heathen.  Had  he  been  a  Presbyterian  merchant,  of  a  religious 
turn,  it  is  probable  a  quantity  of  tracts  would  have  been  nimle 
to  answer  the  purpose  ;  but,  belonging  to  a  sect  whose  prac- 
tice was  generally  as  perfect  as  its  theory  is  imperfect,  Friend 
Abraham  White's  conscience  was  not  to  be  satisfied  with  any 
such  shallow  contrivance.  It  is  true  that  he  expected  to  make 
many  thousands  of  dollars  by  the  voyage,  and  doubtless  would 
so  have  done,  had  not  the  accident  befallen  the  ship,  or  had 
poor  Captain  Crutchely  drank  less  in  honor  of  his  wedding- 
day;  but  the  investment  in  tools,  seeds,  pigs,  wheelbarrows, 
and  other  matters,  honestly  intended  to  better  the  condition  of 
the  natives  of  Vanua  Levu  and  Vita  Levu,  did  not  amount  to  a 
single  cent  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  lawful  money  of  the 
republic. 


112  THE      CRATE  R: 

In  looking  over  the  packages,  Mark  found  white  clover  seed, 
and  Timothy  seed,  among  other  things,  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
cover  most  of  the  mount  of  the  crater.  The  weather  tempo- 
rarily clearing  off,  he  called  to  Bob,  and  they  went  ashore 
together,  Mark  carrying  some  of  the  grass  seed  in  a  pail,  while 
Betta  followed  with  a  vessel  to  hold  guano.  Providing  a  quan- 
tity of  the  last  from  a  barrel  that  had  been  previously  rilled 
Avith  it,  and  covered  to  protect  it  from  the  rain,  they  clambered 
up  the  side  of  the  crater.  This  was  the  first  time,  either  had 
ascended  since  the  day  they  finished  planting  there,  and  Mark 
approached  his  hills  with  a  good  deal  of  freshly-revived  interest 
in  their  fate.  From  them  he  expected  very  little,  having  had 
no  loam  to  mix  with  the  ashes  ;  but,  by  dwelling  so  much  of 
late  on  the  subject  of  tillage,  he  was  not  without  faint  hopes  of 
meeting  with  some  little  reward  for  the  pains  he  had  taken. 
The  reader  will  judge  of  the  rapture,  then,  as  well  as  of  the  sur- 
prise, with  which  he  first  saw  a  hill  of  melons,  already  in  tho 
fourth  leaf.  Here,  then,  was  the  great  problem  successfully 
solved.  Vegetation  had  actually  commenced  on  that  hitherto 
barren  mount,  and  the  spot  which  had  lain — how  long,  Mark 
knew  not,  but  probably  for  a  thousand  years,  if  not  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  in  its  nakedness — was  abcjut  to  be  covered  with 
verdure,  and  blest  with  fruitfulness.  The  inert  principles  which, 
brought  to  act  together,  had  produced  this  sudden  change  from 
barrenness  to  fertility,  had  probably  been  near  neighbors  to 
each  other  all  that  time,  but  had  failed  of  bringing  forth  their 
fruits,  for  the  want  of  absolute  contact.  So  Mark  reasoned,  for 
he  nothing  doubted  that  it  was  Betts'  guano  that  had  stimulated 
the  otherwise  barren  deposit  of  the  volcano,  and  caused  his 
seed  to  germinate.  The  tillage  may  have  aided,  as  well  as  the 
admission  of  air,  light,  and  water ;  but  something  more  than 
this,  our  young  gardener  fancied,  was  wanting  to  success.  That 
something  the  manure  of  birds,  meliorated  and  altered  by  time, 
had  supplied,  and  lo !  the  glorious  results  were  before  his  eyes. 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  portray  to  the  reader  all  the  delight 
which  these  specks  of  incipient  verdure  conveyed  to  the  mind 


or,    v  u  loan's    peak.  113 

of  Mark  Woolston.  It  far  exceeded  the  joy  that  would  be  apt 
to  be  awakened  by  a  relief  from  an  apprehension  of  wanting 
food  at  a  distant  day,  for  it  resembled  something  of  the  charac- 
ter of  a  new  creation.  He  went  from  hill  to  hill,  and  every- 
where did  he  discover  plants,  some  just  peeping  through  the 
ashes,  others  already  in  leaf,  and  all  seemingly  growing  and 
thriving.  Fortunately,  Kitty  had  not  been  on  the  mount  for 
the  last  fortnight,  her  acquired  habits,  and  the  total  nakedness 
of  the  hills,  having  kept  her  below  with  the  other  animals, 
since  her  first  visits.  Mark  saw  the  necessity  of  keeping  her  off 
the  elevation,  which  she  would  certainly  climb  the  instant  any 
thing  like  verdure  caught  her  eyes  from  below.  He  determined, 
therefore,  to  confine  her  to  the  ship,  until  he  had  taken  the 
precautions  necessary  to  prevent  her  ascending  the  mount. 
This  last  was  easily  enough  done.  On  the  exterior  of  the  hills 
there  were  but  three  places  where  even  a  goat  could  get  up. 
This  was  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  the  base  of  the  ascent 
rose  like  a  wall,  for  some  ten  or  twelve  feet,  everywhere  but  at 
the  three  points  mentioned.  It  appeared  to  Mark  as  if  the  sea 
had  formerly  washed  around  the  crater,  giving  this  form  to  its 
bottom,  for  so  wall-like  was  the  rock  for  these  ten  or  twelve 
feet,  that  it  would  have  defied  the  efforts  of  a  man  for  a  lung 
time,  to  overcome  the  difficulties  of  the  ascent.  At  two  of  the 
places  where  the  debris  had  made-a  rough  footing,  half  an  hour's 
work  would  remove  the  material,  and  leave  these  spots  as  im- 
passable as  the  others.  At  the  third  point,  it  might  require  a 
good  deal  of  labor  to  effect  the  object.  At  this  last  place, 
Mark  told  Betts  it  would  be  necessary,  for  the  moment,  to  make 
some  sort  of  a  fence.  Within  the  crater,  it  was  equally  diffi- 
cult to  ascend,  except  at  one  or  two  places ;  but  these  ascents 
our  mariners  thought  of  improving,  by  making  steps,  as  the 
animals  were  effectually  excluded  from  the  plain  within  l>y 
means  of  the  sail  which  served  for  a  curtain  at  the  gateway,  or 
hole  of  entrance. 

As  soon  as  Mark  had  recovered  a  little  from  his  first  surprise, 
he  sent  Bob  below  to  bring  up  some  buckets  filled  with  the 


114  the    crater: 

earth  brought  from  Loam  Rock,  or  Island.  This  soil  was  laid 
carefully  around  each  of  the  plants,  the  two  working  alternately 
at  the  task,  until  a  bucket-full  had  been  laid  in  each  hill.  Mark 
did  not  know  it  at  the  time,  but  subsequent  experience  gave 
him  reason  to  suspect,  that  this  forethought  saved  most  of  his 
favorites  from  premature  deaths.  Seed  might  germinate,  and 
the  plants  shoot  luxuriantly  from  out  of  the  ashes  of  the  volcano, 
under  the  united  influence  of  the  sun  and  rains,  in  that  low 
latitude  ;  but  it  was  questionable  whether  the  nourishment  to 
be  derived  from  such  a  soil,  if  soil  it  could  yet  be  called,  would 
prove  to  be  sufficient  to  sustain  the  plants  when  they  got  to  be 
of  an  age  and  size  to  demand  all  the  support  they  wanted.  So 
convinced  did  Mark  become,  as  the  season  advanced,  of  the 
prudence  of  what  he  then  did  out  of  a  mere  impulse,  that  he 
passed  hours,  subsequently,  in  raising  loam  to  the  summit  of 
the  mount,  in  order  to  place  it  in  the  different  hills.  For  this 
purpose,  Bob  rigged  a  little  derrick,  and  fitted  a  whip,  so  that 
the  buckets  were  whipped  up,  sailor-fashion,  after  two  or  three 
experiments  made  in  lugging  them  up  by  hand  had  suggested 
to  the  honest  fellow  that  there  might  be  a  cheaper  mode  of 
obtaining  their  wishes. 

When  Mark  was  temporarily  satisfied  with  gazing  at  his  nevv- 
fouud  treasures,  he  went  to  work  to  scatter  the  grass  seed  over 
the  summit  and  sides  of  the  crater.  Inside,  there  was  not  much 
motive  for  sowing  any  thing,  the  rock  being  so  nearly  perpen- 
dicular; but  on  the  outside  of  the  hill,  or  "mountain,"  as  Bob 
invariably  called  it,  the  first  ten  or  twelve  feet  excepted,  there 
could  be  no  obstacle  to  the  seeds  taking;  though  from  the 
want  of  soil,  much  of  it,  Mark  knew,  must  be  lost ;  but,  if  it 
only  took  in  spots,  and  gave  him  a  few  green  patches  for  the 
eye  to  rest  on,  he  felt  he  should  be  amply  rewarded  for  his 
trouble.  Bob  scattered  guano  wherever  he  scattered  grass-seed, 
and  in  this  way  they  walked  entirely  round  the  crater,  Mark 
using  up  at  least  half  of  Friend  Abraham  White's  provision  in 
behalf  of  the  savages  of  Feejee,  in  the  way  of  the  grasses.  A 
genial,  soft  rain  soon  came  to  moisten  this  seed,  and  to  embed 


OR,     VULCAN     S      PEAK 


115 


it  with  whatever  there  was  of  soil  on  the  surface,  giving  it  everv 
chance  to  take  root  that  circumstances  would  allow. 

This  preliminary  step  taken  toward  covering  the  face  of  the 
mount  with  verdure,  our  mariners  went  to  work  to  lay  out  their 
garden,  regularly,  within  the  crater.  Mark  manifested  a  good 
deal  of  ingenuity  in  this  matter.  With  occasional  exceptions, 
the  surface  of  the  plain,  or  the  bottom  of  the  crater,  was  an 
even  crust  of  no  great  thickness,  composed  of  concrete  ashes, 
scorise,  etc.,  but  which  might  have  borne  the  weight  of  a  loaded 
wagon.  This  crust  once  broken,  which  it  was  not  very  difficult 
to  do  by  means  of  picks  and  crows,  the  materials  beneath  were 
found  loose  enough  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture,  almost  with- 
out using  the  spade.  Now,  space  being  abundant,  Mark  drew 
lines,  in  fanciful  and  winding  paths,  leaving  the  crust  for  his 
walks,  and  only  breaking  into  the  loose  materials  beneath, 
wherever  he  wished  to  form  a  bed.  This  variety  served  to 
amuse  him  and  Betts,  and  they  worked  with  so  much  the 
greater  zeal,  as  their  labors  produced  objects  that  were  agreeable 
to  the  eye,  and  which  amused  them  now,  while  they  promised 
to  benefit  them  hereafter.  As  each  bed,  whether  oval,  wind- 
ing, or  straight,  was  dug,  the  loam  and  sea-weed  was  mixed  up 
in  it,  in  great  abundance,  after  which  it  was  sown,  or  planted. 

Mark  was  fully  aware  that  many  of  Friend  Abraham  White's 
seeds,  if  they  grew  and  brought  their  fruits  to  maturity,  would 
necessarily  change  their  properties  in  that  climate ;  some  for 
the  worse,  and  others  for  the  better.  From  the  Irish  potato, 
the  cabbage,  and  most  of  the  more  northern  vegetables,  he  did 
not  expect  much,  under  any  circumstances ;  but  he  thought  he 
would  try  all,  and  having  several  regularly  assorted  boxes  of 
garden  seeds,  just  as  they  had  been  purchased  out  of  the  shops 
of  Uhiladelphia,  his  garden  scarce  wanted  any  plant  that  was 
then  known  to  the  kitchens  of  America. 

Our  mariners  were  quite  a  fortnight  preparing,  manuring, 
and  sowing  their  parterre,  which,  when  complete,  occupied 
fully  half  an  acre  in  the  very  centre  of  the  crater,  Mark  intend- 
ing it  for  the  nucleus  of  future  similar  works,  that  might  convert 


116  the    c  rate  r: 

the  whole  hundred  acres  into  a  garden.  By  the  time  the  work 
was  done,  the  rains  were  less  frequent,  though  it  still  came  in 
showers,  and  those  that  were  still  more  favorable  to  vegetation. 
In  that  fortnight  the  plants  on  the  mount  had  made  great  ad- 
vances, showing  the  exuberance  and  growth  of  a  tropical  cli- 
mate. It  sometimes,  nay  it  often  happens,  that  when  the  sun 
is  the  most  genial  for  vegetation,  moisture  is  wanting  to  aid  its 
power,  and,  in  some  respects,  to  counteract  its  influence.  These 
long  and  periodical  droughts,  however,  are  not  so  much  owing 
to  heat  as  to  other  and  local  causes.  Mark  now  began  to  hope, 
as  the  spring  advanced,  that  his  little  territory  was  to  be  exempt, 
in  a  great  measure,  from  the  curse  of  droughts — the  trades,  and 
some  other  causes  that  to  him  were  unknown,  bringing  clouds 
so  often  that  not  only  shed  their  rain  upon  his  garden,  but 
which  served  in  a  great  measure  to  mitigate  a  heat  that,  without 
shade  of  some  sort  or  other,  would  be  really  intolerable. 

With  a  view  to  the  approaching  summer,  our  mariners 
turned  their  attention  to  the  constructing  of  a  tent  within  the 
crater.  They  got  some  old  sails  and  some  spars  ashore,  and 
soon  had  a  spacious,  as  well  as  a  comfortable  habitation  of  this 
sort  erected.  Not  only  did  they  spread  a  spacious  tent  for 
themselves,  within  the  crater,  but  they  erected  another,  or  a 
sort  of  a  canopy,  rather,  on  its  outside,  for  the  use  of  the  ani- 
mals, which  took  refuge  beneath  it,  during  the  heats  of  the  day, 
with  an  avidity  that  proved  how  welcome  it  was.  This  outside 
shed,  or  canopy,  required  a  good  deal  of  care  in  its  construction, 
to  resist  the  wind,  while  that  inside  scarce  ever  felt  the  breeze. 
This  want  of  wind,  or  of  air  in  motion,  indeed,  formed  the  most 
serious  objection  to  the  crater,  as  a  place  of  residence,  in  the 
hot  months ;  and  the  want  of  breeze  that  was  suffered  in  the 
tent,  set  Mark  to  work  to  devise  expedients  for  building  some 
sort  of  tent,  or  habitation,  on  the  mount  itself,  where  it  would 
be  always  cool,  provided  one  could  get  a  protection  from  the 
fierce  rays  of  the  sun. 

After  a  good  deal  of  search,  Mark  selected  a  spot  on  the 
u  Summit,"  as  he  began  to  term  the  place,  and  pitched  his  tent 


or,    vulcan's    peak, 


117 


on  it.  Holes  were  made  in  the  soft  rocks,  and  pieces  of  spars 
were  inserted,  to  answer  for  posts.  With  a  commencement  as 
solid  as  this,  it  was  not  difficult  to  make  the  walls  of  the  tent 
(or  marquee  would  be  the  better  word,  since  both  habitations 
had  nearly  upright  sides),  by  means  of  an  old  fore-course.  In 
order  to  get  the  canvas  up  there,  however,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  cut  out  the  pieces  below,  when,  by  means  of  the  pur- 
chase at  the  derrick,  it  was  all  hoisted  to  the  Summit. 

These  several  arrangements  occupied  Mark  and  Bob  another 
fortnight,  completing  the  first  quarter  of  a  year  they  had  passed 
on  the  reef.  By  this  time  they  had  got  accustomed  to  their 
situation,  and  had  fallen  into  regular  courses  of  duty,  though 
the  increasing  heats  admonished  both  of  the  prudence  of  not  ex- 
posing themselves  too  much  beneath  the  fiery  sun  at  noon-day. 


^ 


]  19  the    crater: 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"Now,  from  the  full-grown  day  a  beamy  shower 
Gleams  on  the  lake,  and  gilds  each  glossy  flower, 
Gay  insects  sparkle  in  the  genial  blaze, 
Various  as  light,  and  countless  as  its  rays — 
Now,  from  yon  range  of  rocks,  strong  rays  rebound, 
Doubling  the  day  on  flow'ry  plains  around." 

Savagu. 

After  the  tent  on  the  Summit  was  erected,  Mark  passed 
much  of  his  leisure  time  there.  Thither  he  conveyed  many  of 
his  books,  of  which  he  had  a  very  respectable  collection,  his 
flute,  and  a  portion  of  his  writing  materials.  There  he  could 
sit  and  watch  the  growth  of  the  different  vegetables  he  was 
cultivating.  As  for  Bob,  he  fished  a  good  deal,  both  in  the 
way  of  supplies  and  for  his  amusement.  The  pigs  and  poultry 
fared  well,  and  every  thing  seemed  to  thrive  but  poor  Kitty. 
She  loved  to  follow  Mark,  and  cast  many  a  longing  look  up 
at  the  Summit,  whenever  she  saw  him  strolling  about  among 
his  plants. 

The  vegetables  on  the  Summit,  or  those  first  put  into  the 
ground,  flourished  surprisingly.  Loam  had  been  added  repeat- 
edly, and  they  wanted  for  nothing  that  could  bring  forward 
vegetation.  The  melons  soon  began  to  run,  as  did  the  cucum 
bers,  squashes,  and  pumpkins ;  and  by  the  end  of  the  next 
month,  there  were  a  dozen  large  patches  on  the  mount  that 
were  covered  by  a  dense  verdure.  Nor  was  this  all ;  Mark 
making  a  discovery  about  this  time,  that  afforded  him  almost  as 
much  happiness  as  when  he  first  saw  his  melons  in  leaf.  He 
was  seated  one  day,  with  the  walls  of  his  tent  brailed  up,  in 
order  to  allow  the  wind  to  blow  through,  wThen  something  dark 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  119 

on  the  rock  caught  his  eye.  This  spot  was  some  little  distance 
from  him,  and  going  to  it,  he  found  that  large  quantities  of  his 
grass  seed  had  actually  taken  !  Now  he  might  hope  to  con- 
vert that  barren-looking,  and  often  glaring  rock,  into  a  beauti- 
ful grassy  hill,  and  render  that  which  was  sometimes  painful 
to  the  eyes,  a  pleasure  to  look  upon.  The  young  man  under- 
stood the  laws  of  vegetation  well  enough  to  be  certain  that 
could  the  roots  of  grasses  once  insinuate  themselves  into  the 
almost  invisible  crevices  of  the  crust  that  covered  the  place, 
they  would  of  themselves  let  in  light,  air,  and  water  enough  for 
their  own  wants,  and  thus  increase  the  very  fertility  on  which 
they  subsisted.  He  did  not  fail,  however,  to  aid  nature,  by 
scattering  a  fresh  supply  of  guano  all  over  the  hill. 

While  Mark  was  thus  employed  at  home,  Bob  rowed  out  to 
the  reef,  bringing  in  his  fish  in  such  quantities  that  it  occurred 
to  Mark  to  convert  them  also  into  manure.  A  fresh  half  acre 
was  accordingly  broken  up,  within  the  crater,  the-  cool  of  the 
mornings  and  of  the  evenings  being  taken  for  the  toil ;  and,  as 
soon  as  a  bed  was  picked  over,  quantities  of  fish  were  buried  in 
it,  and  left  there  to  decay.  Nor  did  Betts  neglect  the  sea-weed 
the  while.  On  several  occasions  he  floated  large  bodies  of  it  in, 
from  the  outer  reefs,  which  were  all  safely  landed  and  wheeled 
into  the  crater,  where  a  long  pile  of  it  was  formed,  mingled 
with  loam  from  Loam  Island,  and  guano.  This  work,  however, 
gradually  ceased  as  the  season  advanced,  and  summer  came  in 
earnest.  That  season,  however,  did  not  prove  by  any  means  a3 
formidable  as  Mark  had  anticipated,  the  sea-breezes  keeping  the 
place  cool  and  refreshed.  Our  mariners  now  missed  the  rain, 
which  was  by  no  means  as  frequent  as  it  had  been,  though  it 
fell  in  larger  quantities  when  it  did  come.  The  stock  had  to  be 
watered  for  several  weeks,  the  power  of  the  sun  causing  all  the 
water  that  lodged  in  the  cavities  of  the  rocks  to  evaporate  al- 
most immediately. 

During  the  time  it  was  too  warm  to  venture  out  in  the  din- 
gui,  except  for  half  an  hour  of  a  morning,  or  for  as  long  a 
period  of  an  evening,  Mark  turned  his  attention  to  the  ship 


120  the    crater: 

again.  Seizing  suitable  moments,  each  sail  was  loosened,  thor- 
oughly dried,  unbent,  and  got  below.  An  awning  was  got 
out  and  spread,  and  the  decks  were  wet  down,  morning  and 
evening,  both  for  the  purposes  of  cleanliness,  and  to  keep  them 
from  cheeking.  The  hold  was  now  entered  and  overhauled, 
for  the  first  time  since  the  accident.  A  great  many  useful 
things  were  found  in  it,  and  among  other  articles,  two  barrels 
of  good  sharp  vinegar,  which  Friend  Abraham  White  had 
caused  to  be  put  on  board  to  be  used  with  any  thing  that  could 
be  pickled,  as  an  anti-scorbutic.  The  onions  and  cucumbers 
both  promising  so  well,  Mark  rejoiced  at  this  discovery,  deter- 
mining at  once  to  use  some  of  the  vinegar  on  a  part  of  his  ex- 
pected crop  of  those  two  vegetables. 

One  day  as  Bob  was  rummaging  about  in  the  hold,  and  Mark 
was  looking  on,  that  being  the  coolest  place  on  the  whole  reef, 
the  former  got  hold  of  a  piece  of  wood,  and  began  to  tug  at  it 
to  draw  it  out  from  among  a  pile  that  lay  in  a  dark  corner. 
After  several  efforts,  the  stick  came,  when  Mark,  struck  with  a 
glimpse  he  got  of  its  form,  bade  Bob  bring  it  under  the  light  of 
the  hatchway.  The  instant  he  got  a  good  look  at  it,  Wool- 
ston  knew  that  Bob's  "  foolish,  crooked  stick,  which  was  fit  to 
stow  nowhere,"  as  the  honest  fellow  had  described  it  when  it 
gave  him  so  much  trouble,  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  one 
of  the  ribs  of  a  boat  of  larger  size  than  common. 

"This  is  providential,  truly  !"  exclaimed  Mark.  "  Your  crook- 
ed stick,  Bob,  is  a  part  of  the  frame  of  the  pinnace  of  which 
you  spoke,  and  which  we  had  given  up,  as  a  thing  not  to  be 
found  on  board  !" 

"You're  right,  Mr.  Mark,  you're  right!"  answered  Bob — 
"  and  I  must  have  been  oncommon  stupid  not  to  have  thought 
of  it,  when  it  came  so  hard.  And  if  there's  one  of  the  boat's 
bones  stowed  in  that  place,  there  must  be  more  to  be  found  in 
the  same  latitude." 

This  was  true  enough.  After  working  in  that  dark  corner  of 
the  hold  for  several  hours,  all  the  materials  of  the  intended 
craft  were  found,  and  collected  in  the  steerage.     Neither  Mark 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  121 

nor  Betts  was  a  boat-builder,  or  a  shipwright ;  but  each  had  a 
certain  amount  of  knowledge  on  the  subject,  and  each  well 
knew  where  every  piece  was  intended  to  lie  put.  What  a  revo- 
lution this  discovery  made  in  the  feelings  of  our  young  husband! 
He  had  never  totally  despaired  of  sceiug  Bridget  again,  for  that 
would  scarce  have  comported  with  his  youth  and  sanguine  tem- 
perament ;  but  the  hope  had,  of  late,  become  so  very  dim,  as  to 
survive  only  as  that  feeling  will  endure  in  the  bosoms  of  the 
youthful  and  inexperienced.  Mark  had  lived  a  long  time  for 
his  years ;  had  seen  more  and  performed  far  more  than  usually 
falls  to  persons  of  his  age,  and  he  was,  by  character,  prudent 
and  practical  ;  but  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  one  who 
had  lived  as  long  and  as  well  as  himself,  to  give  up  every  expec- 
tation of  being  restored  to  his  bride,  even  in  circumstances  more 
discouraging  than  those  in  which  he  was  actually  placed.  Still, 
he  had  been  slowly  accustoming  himself  to  the  idea  of  a  pro- 
tracted separation,  and  had  never  lost  sight  of  the  expediency 
of  making  his  preparations  for  passing  his  entire  life  in  the  soli- 
tary place  where  he  and  Betts  had  been  cast  by  a  mysterious 
and  unexpected  dispensation  of  a  Divine  Providence.  When 
Bob,  from  time  to  time,  insisted  on  his  account  of  the  mate- 
rials for  the  pinnace  being  in  the  ship,  Mark  had  listened  in- 
credulously, unconscious  himself  how  much  his  mind  had  been 
occupied  by  Bridget  when  this  part  of  the  cargo  had  been  taken 
in,  and  unwilling  to  believe  such  an  acquisition  could  have  been 
made  without  his  knowledge.  Now  that  he  saw  it,  however,  a 
tumultuous  rushing  of  all  the  blood  in  his  body  toward  his 
heart,  almost  overpowered  him,  and  the  future  entirely  changed 
its  aspects.  He  did  not  doubt  an  instant,  of  the  ability  of  Bob 
and  himself  to  put  these  blessed  materials  together,  or  of  their 
success  in  navigating  the  mild  sea  around  them,  for  any  necessa- 
ry distance,  in  a  craft  of  the  size  this  must  turn  out  to  be.     A 

bright  vista,  with  Bridget's  brighter  countenance  at  its  term  ma- 
cs *  o  o 

tion,  glowed  before  his  imagination,  and  a  great  deal  of  whole- 
some philosophy  and  Christian  submission  were  unsettled,  as  it 
might  be,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  by  this  all-important  dis- 
0 


122  the    crater: 

covery.  Mark  had  never  abandoned  the  thought  of  construct- 
ing a  little  vessel  with  materials  torn  from  the  ship  ;  but  that 
■would  have  been  a  most  laborious,  as  well  as  a  doubtful  experi- 
ment, while  here  was  the  problem  solved,  with  a  certainty  and 
precision  almost  equal  to  one  in  mathematics  ! 

The  agitation  and  revulsion  of  feeling  produced  in  Mark  by 
the  discovery  of  the  materials  of  the  pinnace,  were  so  great  as  to 
prevent  him  from  maturing  any  plan  for  several  days.  During 
that  time  he  could  perceive  in  himself  an  alteration  that  amount- 
ed almost  to  an  entire  change  of  character.  The  vines  on  the 
Summit  were  now  in  full  leaf,  and  they  covered  broad  patches 
of  the  rock  with  their  luxuriant  vegetation,  while  the  grass 
could  actually  be  seen  from  the  ship,  converting  the  drab- 
colored  concretions  of  the  mount  into  slopes  and  acclivities  of 
verdure.  But  all  this  delighted  him  no  longer.  Home  and 
Bridget  met  him  even  in  the  fanciful  and  now  thriving  beds 
within  the  crater,  where  every  thing  appeared  to  push  forward 
with  a  luxuriance  and  promise  of  return,  far  exceeding  what  had 
once  been  his  fondest  expectations.  He  could  see  nothing,  an- 
ticipate nothing,  talk  of  nothing,  think  of  nothing,  but  these 
new-found  means  of  quitting  the  reef,  and  of  returning  to  the 
abodes  of  men,  and  to  the  arms  of  his  young  wife. 

Betts  took  things  more  philosophically.  He  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  "  Robinson  Crusoe  it"  a  few  years,  and,  though  he 
had  often  expressed  a  wish  that  the  dingui  was  of  twice  its  ac- 
tual size,  he  would  have  been  quite  as  well  content  with  this 
new  boat  could  it  be  cut  down  to  one-fourth  of  its  real  dimen- 
sions. He  submitted  to  Mark's  superior  information,  however ; 
and  when  the  latter  told  him  that  he  could  wait  no  longer  for 
the  return  of  cooler  weather,  or  for  the  heat  of  the  sun  to  be- 
come less  intense,  before  he  began  to  set  up  the  frame  of  his 
craft,  as  had  been  the  first  intention,  Bob  acquiesced  in  the 
change  of  plan  without  remonstrance,  bent  on  taking  things  as 
they  came,  in  humility  and  cheerfulness. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  far  easier  bravely  to  determine  in  this 
{natter,  than  to  execute.     The  heat  was  now  so  intense  for  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  123 

greater  part  of  the  day,  that  it  would  have  far  exceeded  the 
power  of  our  two  mariners  to  support  it,  on  a  naked  rock,  and 
without  shade  of  any  sort.  The  frame  of  the  pinnace  must  be 
set  up  somewhere  near  the  water,  regular  ways  being  necessary 
to  launch  her;  and  nowhere,  on  the  shore,  was  the  smallest 
shade  to  be  found,  without  recourse  to  artificial  means  of  pro- 
curing it.  As  Mark's  impatience  would  no  longer  brook  delay, 
this  artificial  shade,  therefore,  was  the  first  thing  to  be  attend- 
ed to. 

The  leeward  end  of  the  reef  was  chosen  for  the  new  ship- 
yard. Although  this  choice  imposed  a  good  deal  of  additional 
labor  on  the  two  workmen,  by  compelling  them  to  transport  all 
the  materials  rather  more  than  a  mile,  reflection  and  examina- 
tion induced  Mark  to  select  the  spot  he  did.  The  formation 
of  the  rock  was  more  favorable  there,  he  fancied,  than  in  any 
other  place  he  could  find ;  offering  greater  facilities  for  launch- 
ing. This  was  one  motive  ;  but  the  principal  inducement  was 
connected  with  an  apprehension  of  floods.  By  the  wall-like 
appearance  of  the  exterior  base  of  the  mount ;  by  the  smooth- 
ness of  the  surface  of  the  reef  in  general,  which,  while  it  had 
many  inequalities,  wore  the  appearance  of  being  semi-polished 
by  the  washing  of  water  over  it ;  and  by  the  certain  signs  that 
were  to  be  found  on  most  of  the  lower  half  of  the  plain  of  the 
crater  itself,  Mark  thought  it  apparent  that  the  entire  reef,  the 
crater  excepted,  had  been  often  covered  with  the  water  of  the 
ocean,  and  that  at  no  very  distant  day.  The  winter  months 
were  usually  the  tempestuous  months  in  that  latitude,  though 
hurricanes  might  at  any  time  occur.  Now,  the  winter  was  yet 
an  untried  experiment  with  our  two  "reefers,"  as  Bob  some- 
times laughingly  called  himself  and  Mark,  and  hurricanes  were 
things  that  often  raised  the  seas  in  their  neighborhood  several 
feet,  in  an  hour  or  two.  Should  the  water  be  actually  driven 
upon  the  reef,  so  as  to  admit  of  a  current  to  wash  across  it,  or 
the  waves  to  roll  along  its  surface,  the  pinnace  would  be  in  the 
greatest  danger  of  being  carried'  off  before  it  could  be  even 
launched. 


124  the    crater: 

All  these  tilings  Mark  bore  in  mind,  and  he  chose  the  spot 
he  did,  with  an  eye  to  these  floods  altogether.  It  might  be 
six  or  eight  months  before  they  could  be  ready  to  get  the  pin- 
nace into  the  water,  and  it  now  wanted  but  six  to  the  stormy 
season.  At  the  western,  or  leeward  extremity  of  the  island, 
the  little  craft  would  be  under  the  lee«of  the  crater,  which  would 
form  a  sort  of  breakwater,  and  might  be  the  means  of  prevent- 
ing it  from  being  washed  away.  Then  the  rock,  just  at  that 
spot,  was  three  or  four  feet  higher  than  at  any  other  point, 
sufficiently  near  the  sea  to  admit  of  launching  with  ease ;  and 
the  two  advantages  united,  induced  our  young  "reefer"  to  in- 
cur the  labor  of  transporting  the  materials  the  distance  named, 
in  preference  to  foregoing  them.  The  raft,  however,  was  put  in 
requisition,  and  the  entire  frame,  with  a  few  of  the  planks  neces- 
sary for  a  commencement,  was  carried  round  at  one  load. 

Previously  to  laying  the  keel  of  the  pinnace,  Mark  named  it 
the  Neshamony,  after  a  creek  that  was  nearly  opposite  to  the 
Rancocus,  another  inlet  of  the  Delaware,  that  had  given  its 
name  to  the  ship  from  the  circumstance  that  Friend  Abraham 
White  had  been  born  on  its  low  banks.  The  means  of  averting 
the  pains  and  penalties  of  working  in  the  sun,  were  also  attended 
to,  as,  indeed,  the  great  preliminary  measure  in  this  new  enter- 
prise. To  this  end,  the  raft  was  again  put  in  requisition  ;  an  old 
main-course  was  got  out  of  the  sail-room,  and  lowered  upon  the 
raft ;  spare  spars  were  cut  to  the  necessary  length,  and  thrown 
into  the  water,  to  be  towed  down  in  company  ;  ropes,  etc.,  were 
provided,  and  Bob  sailed  anew  on  this  voyage.  It  was  a  work 
of  a  good  deal  of  labor  to  get  the  raft  to  windward,  towing 
having  been  resorted  to  as  the  easiest  process,  but  a  trip  to 
leeward  was  soon  made.  In  twenty  minutes  after  this  cargo 
had  left  the  ship,  it  reached  its  point  of  destination. 

The  only  time  when  our  men  could  work  at  even  their  awn- 
ing, were  two  hours  early  in  the  morning,  and  as  many  after 
the  sun  had  got  very  low,  or  had  absolutely  set.  Eight  holes 
had  to  be  drilled  into  the  lava,  to  a  depth  of  two  feet  each. 
Gunpowder,  in  very  small  quantities,  was  used,  or  these  holes 


or,     vulcak'«    peak.  125 

could  not  have  been  made  in  a  twelvemonth.  But  by  drilling 
with  a  crowbar  a  foot  or  two  into  the  rock,  and  charging  the 
cavity  with  a  very  small  portion  of  powder,  the  lava  was  cracked, 
when  the  stones  rather  easily  were  raised  by  means  of  the  picks 
and  crows.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  amount  of  labor 
that  was  expended  on  this,  the  first  step  in  the  new  task,  by 
the  circumstance  that  a  month  was  passed  in  setting  those  eight 
awning-posts  alone.  When  up,  however,  they  perfectly  an- 
swered the  purpose,  every  thing  having  been  done  in  a  thorough, 
seaman-like  manner.  At  the  top  of  each  post,  itself  a  portion 
of  solid  spar,  a  watch-tackle  was  lashed,  by  means  of  which  the 
sail  was  bowsed  up  to  its  place.  To  prevent  the  bagging  una- 
voidable in  an  awning  of  that  size,  several  uprights  were  set  in 
the  centre,  on  end,  answering  their  purpose  sufficiently  without 
boring  into  the  rocks. 

Bob  was  in  raptures  with  the  new  "ship-yard."  It  wras  as 
large  as  the  main-sail  of  a  ship  of  four  hundred  tons,  was  com- 
plete as  to  shade,  with  the  advantage  of  letting  the  breeze  cir- 
culate, and  had  a  reasonable  chance  of  escaping  from  the  calam- 
ities of  a  flood.  Mark,  too,  was  satisfied  with  the  result,  and 
the  very  next  day  after  this  task  was  completed,  ou*r  shipwrights 
set  to  work  to  lay  their  keel.  That  day  was  memorable  ou 
another  account.  Bob  had  gone  to  the  Summit  in  quest  of  a 
tool  left  there,  in  fitting  up  the  boat  of  Mark,  and  while  on  the 
mount,  he  ascertained  the  important  fact  that  the  melons  were 
beginning  to  ripen.  He  brought  down  three  or  four  of  these 
delicious  fruits,  and  Mark  had  the  gratification  of  tasting  some 
of  the  bounties  of  Providence,  wdiich  had  been  bestowed  as  a 
reward  of  his  own  industry  and  forethought.  It  was  necessary 
to  eat  of  these  melons  in  moderation,  however ;  but  it  was  a 
great  relief  to  get  them  at  all,  after  subsisting  for  so  long  a  time 
on  salted  meats,  principally,  with  no  other  vegetables  but  such 
as  were  dry,  and  had  been  long  in  the  ship.  It  was  not  the 
melons  alone,  however,  that  were  getting  to  be  ripe ;  for,  on 
examining,  himself,  among  the  vines  which  now  covered  tully 
an  acre  of  the  Sur  anit,  Mark  fuuud  squashes,  cucumbers,  onions, 


126  the    crater: 

sweet  potatoes,  tomatoes,  string-beans,  and  two  or  three  other 
vegetables,  all  equally  fit  to  be  used.  From  that  time,  some 
of  these  plants  were  put  into  the  pot  daily,  and  certain  slight 
apprehensions  which  Woolston  had  begun  again  to  entertain  on 
the  subject  of  scurvy,  were  soon  dissipated.  As  for  the  garden 
within  the  crater,  which  was  much  the  most  extensive  and 
artistical,  it  was  somewhat  behind  that  on  the  Summit,  having 
been  later  tilled  ;  but  every  thing,  there,  looked  equally  prom- 
ising, and  Mark  saw  that  one  acre,  well  worked,  would  produce 
more  than  he  and  Betts  could  consume  in  a  twelvemonth. 

It  was  an  important  day  on  the  reef  when  the  keel  of  the 
pinnace  was  laid.  On  examining  his  materials,  Mark  ascertained 
that  the  boat-builders  had  marked  and  numbered  each  portion 
of  the  frame,  each  plank,  and  every  thing  else  that  belonged  to 
the  pinnace.  Holes  were  bored,  and  every  thing  had  been 
done  in  the  boat-yard  that  could  be  useful  to  those  who,  it  was 
expected,  were  to  put  the  work  together  in  a  distant  part  of 
the  world.  This  greatly  facilitated  our  new  boat-builders'  la- 
bors in  the  way  of  skill,  besides  having  done  so  much  of  the 
actual  toil  to  their  hands.  As  soon  as  the  keel  was  laid,  Mark 
set  up  the  frame,  which  came  together  with  very  little  trouble. 
The  wailes  were  then  got  out,  and  were  fitted,  each  piece  being 
bolted  in  its  allotted  place.  As  the  work  had  already  been  put 
together,  there  was  little  or  no  dubbing  necessary.  Aware  that 
the  parts  had  once  been  accurately  fitted  to  each  other,  Mark 
was  careful  not  to  disturb  their  arrangement  by  an  unnecessary 
use  of  the  adze,  or  broad-axe,  experimenting  and  altering  the 
positions  of  the  timbers  and  planks ;  but  whenever  he  met  with 
any  obstacle,  in  preference  to  cutting  and  changing  the  mate- 
rials themselves,  he  persevered  until  the  parts  came  together  as 
had  been  contemplated.  By  observing  this  caution,  the  whole 
frame  was  set  up,  the  wailes  were  fitted  and  bolted,  and  the 
garboard-streak  got  on  and  secured,  without  taking  off  a  parti- 
cle of  the  wood,  though  a  week  was  necessary  to  effect  these 
desired  objects. 

Our  mariners  now   measured  their   new  frame.       The  keel 


OR,      VULCAN    8      PEAK. 


127 


was  just  four-and-twenty  feet  long,  tlie  distance  between  the 
knight-heads  and  the  taffrail  being  six  feet  greater  ;  the  beam, 
from  outside  to  outside,  was  nine  feet,  and  the  hold  might  be 
computed  at  five  feet  in  depth.  This  gave  something  like  a 
measurement  of  eleven  tons  ;  the  pinnace  having  been  intended 
for  a  craft  a  trifle  smaller  than  this.  As  a  vessel  of  eleven  tons 
might  make  very  good  weather  in  a  sea-way,  if  properly  han- 
dled,  the  result  gave  great  satisfaction,  Mark  cheering  Bob  with 
accouuts  of  crafts,  of  much  smaller  dimensions,  that  had  navi- 
gated the  more  stormy  seas  with  entire  safety,  on  various  occa- 


sions. 


The  planking  of  the  Neshamony  was  no  great  matter,  being 
completed  the  week  it  was  commenced.     The  caulking,  how- 
ever, gave  more  trouble,  though  Bob  had  done  a  good  deal  of 
that  sort  of  work  in  his  day.     It  took  a  fortnight  for  the  honest 
fellow  to  do  the  caulking  to  his  own  mind,  and  before  it  was 
finished  another  great  discovery  was  made  by  rummaging  in 
the  ship's  hold,  in  quest  of  some  of  the  fastenings,  which  had 
not  at  first  been  found.     A  quantity  of  old  sheet-copper,  that 
had  run  its  time  on  a  vessel's  bottom,  was  brought  to  light, 
marked  "copper  for  the  pinnace."      Friend  Abraham  White 
had  bethought  him  of  the  worms  of  the  low  latitudes,  and  had 
sent  out  enough  of  the  refuse  copper  of  a  vessel  that  had  been 
broken  up,  to  cover  the  bottom  of  this  little  craft  fairly  up  to 
her  bends.     To  work,  then,  Mark  and  Bob  went  to  put  on  the 
sheathing  paper  and  copper  that  had  thus  bountifully  been  pro- 
vided for  them,  as  soon  as  the  seams  were  well  payed.     This 
done,  and  it  was  no  great  job,  the  paint-brush  was  set  to  work, 
and  the   hull  was  completed  !     In  all,  Mark  and  Betts  were 
eight  weeks,   hard  at  work,   putting   their   pinnace   together. 
When  she  was  painted,  the  summer  was  more  than  half  gone. 
The  laying  of  the  deck  had  given  more  trouble  than  any  other 
portion  ofthe  work  on  the  boat,  and  this  because  it  was  not  a 
plain,  full  deck,  or  one  that  covered  the  wh.de  of  the  vessel,  but 
left  small  stern-sheets  aft.   jrfiich  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  comfort  and  safety  of  those  she  was  to  carry.     The  whole 


128  the    crater: 

was  got  together,  however,  leaving  Mark  and  Bob  to  rejoice 
in  their  success  thus  far,  and  to  puzzle  their  heads  about  the 
means  of  getting  their  craft  into  the  water,  now  she  was  built. 
In  a  word,  it  was  far  easier  to  put  together  a  vessel  of  ten  tons, 
that  had  been  thus  ready  fitted  to  their  hands,  than  it  was  to 
launch  her. 

As  each  of  our  mariners  had  necessarily  seen  many  vessels 
in  their  cradles,  each  had  some  idea  of  what  it  was  now  neces- 
sary to  do.  Mark  had  laid  the  keel  as  near  the  water  as  he 
could  get  it,  and  by  this  precaution  had  saved  himself  a  good 
deal  of  labor.  It  was  very  easy  to  find  materials  for  the  ways, 
many  heavy  planks  still  remaining  ;  but  the  difficulty  was  to 
lay  them  so  that  they  would  not  spread.  Here  the  awning- 
posts  were  found  of  good  service,  plank  being  set  on  their 
edges  against  them,  which,  in  their  turn,  were  made  to  sustain 
the  props  of  the  ways.  In  order  to  save  materials  in  the  cradle, 
the  ways  themselves  were  laid  on  blocks,  and  they  were  secured 
as  well  as  the  skill  of  our  self-formed  shipwrights  could  do  it. 
They  had  some  trouble  in  making  the  cradle,  and  had  once  to 
undo  all  they  had  done,  in  consequence  of  a  mistake.  At 
length  Mark  was  of  opinion  they  had  taken  all  the  necessary 
precautions,  and  told  Betts  that  he  thought  they  might  venture 
to  attempt  launching  the  next  day.  But  Bob  made  a  sugges- 
tion which  changed  this  plan,  and  caused  a  delay  that  was  at- 
tended with  very  serious  consequences. 

The  weather  had  become  cloudy,  and  a  little  menacing,  for 
the  last  few  days,  and  Bob  proposed  that  they  should  lower  the 
awning,  get  up  shears  on  the  rock,  and  step  the  mast  of  the  pin- 
nace before  they  launched  her,  as  a  means  of  saving  some  labor. 
The  spar  was  not  very  heavy,  it  was  true,  and  it  might  be  stepped 
by  crossing  a  couple  of  the  oars  in  the  boat  itself ;  but  a  couple 
of  light  spars — top-gallant  studding-sail-booms  for  instance — 
would  enable  them  to  do  it  much  more  readily  before  the  craft 
was  put  into  the  water,  than  it  could  be  done  afterward.  Mark 
listened  to  the  suggestion,  and  acquiesced.  The  awning  was 
consequently  lowered,  and  got  out  of  the  way.     To  prevent  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  129 

hogs  from  tearing  the  sail,  it  was  placed  on  two  of  the  wheel- 
barrows and  wheeled  up  into  the  crater,  whither  those  ani- 
mals had  never  yet  found  their  way.  Then  the  shears  were  got 
up,  and  the  mast  was  stepped  and  rigged ;  the  boat's  sails 
were  found  and  bent.  Mark  now  thought  enough  had  been 
done,  and  that,  the  next  day,  they  might  undertake  the  launch. 
But  another  suggestion  of  Bob's  delayed  the  proceedings. 

The  weather  still  continued  clouded  and  menacing.  Betts 
was  of  opinion,  therefore,  that  it  might  be  well  to  stow  the  pro- 
visions and  water  they  intended  to  use  in  the  pinnace,  while  she 
was  on  the  stocks,  as  they  could  work  round  her  so  much  the 
more  easily  then  than  afterward.  Accordingly,  the  breakers 
were  got  out,  on  board  the  ship,  and  filled  with  fresh  water. 
They  were  then  struck  into  the  raft.  A  barrel  of  beef,  and  one 
of  pork  followed,  with  a  quantity  of  bread.  At  two  trips  the 
raft  carried  all  the  provisions  and  stores  that  were  wanted,  and 
the  cargoes  were  landed,  rolled  up  to  the  side  of  the  pinnace, 
hoisted  on  board  of  her,  by  means  of  the  throat-halliard,  and 
properly  stowed.  Two  grapnels,  or  rather  one  grapnel  and  a 
small  kedge,  were  found  among  the  pinnace's  materials,  every 
thing  belonging  to  her  having  been  stowed  in  the  same  part  of 
the  ship.  These,  too,  were  carried  round  to  the  ship-yard,  got 
on  board,  and  their  hawsers  bent.  In  a  word,  every  preparation 
was  made  that  might  be  necessary  to  make  sail  on  the  pinnace, 
and  to  proceed  to  sea  in  her  at  once. 

It  was  rather  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third  clouded  day, 
that  Betts  himself  admitted  no  more  could  be  done  to  the  Nesh- 
amony,  previously  to  putting  her  into  the  water.  When  our 
two  mariners  ceased  the  business  of  the  day,  therefore,  it  was 
with  the  understanding  that  they  would  turn  out  early  in  the 
morning,  wedge  np,  and  launch.  An  hour  of  daylight  remain- 
ing, Mark  went  up  to  the  Summit  to  select  a  few  melons,  and  to 
take  a  look  at  the  state  of  the  plantations  and  gardens.  Before 
ascending  the  hill,  the  young  man  walked  through  his  garden 
in  the  crater,  where  every  thing  was  flourishing  and  doing  well. 
Many  of  the  vegetables  were  by  this  time  fit  to  eat,  and  there 

V 


130  the    crater: 

was  every  prospect  of  there  being  a  sufficient  quantity  raised  to 
meet  the  wants  of  two  or  three  persons  for  a  long  period  ahead. 
The  sight  of  these  fruits  of  his  toil,  and  the  luxuriance  of  the 
different  plants,  caused  a  momentary  feeling  of  regret  in  Mark 
at  the  thought  of  being  about  to  quit  the  place  forever.  He 
even  fancied  he  should  have  a  certain  pleasure  in  returning  to 
the  reef;  and  once  a  faint  outline  of  a  plan  came  over  his  mind, 
in  which  he  fancied  that  he  might  bring  Bridget  to  this  place, 
and  pass  the  rest  of  his  life  with  her,  in  the  midst  of  its  peace 
and  tranquillity.  This  was  but  a  passing  thought,  however,  and 
was  soon  forgotten  in  the  pictures  that  crowded  on  his  mind,  in 
connection  with  the  great  anticipated  event  of  the  next  day. 

While  strolling  about  the  little  walks  of  his  garden,  the  ap- 
pearance of  verdure  along  the  edge  of  the  crater,  or  immediately 
beneath  the  cliff,  caught  Mark's  eye.  Going  hastily  to  the 
spot,  he  found  that  there  was  a  long  row  of  plants  of  a  new  sort, 
not  only  appearing  above  the  ground,  but  already  in  leaf,  and 
vising  several  inches  in  height.  These  were  the  results  of 
the  seeds  of  the  oranges,  lemons,  limes,  shaddocks,  figs,  and 
other  fruits  of  the  tropics,  that  he  had  planted  there  as  an  ex- 
periment, and  forgotten.  While  his  mind  was  occupied  with 
other  things,  these  seeds  had  sent  forth  their  shoots,  and  the 
several  trees  were  growing  with  the  rapidity  and  luxuriance  that 
distinguish  vegetation  within  the  tropics.  As  Mark's  imagina- 
tion pictured  what  might  be  the  effects  of  cultivation  and  care 
on  that  singular  spot,  a  sigh  of  regret  mingle  j  with  h's  hopes 
for  the  future,  as  he  recollected  he  was  so  soon  to  abandon  the 
place  forever ;  while  on  the  Summit,  too,  this  feeling  of  regret 
was  increased,  rather  than  diminished.  So  much  of  the  grass 
seed  had  taken,  and  the  roots  had  already  so  far  extended,  that 
acres  were  beginning  to  look  verdant  and  smiling.  Two  or 
three  months  had  brought  every  thing  forward  prodigiously, 
and  the  frequency  of  the  rains,  in  showers,  added  to  the  genial 
warmth  of  the  sun,  gave  to  vegetation  a  quickness  and  force 
that  surprised,  as  much  as  it  delighted  our  young  man. 

That  night  Mark  aud  Betts  both  slept  in  the  ship.     They 


OR,     VCLCAX'S      PEAK.  131 

had  a  fancy  it  might  be  the  last  in  which  they  could  ever  have 
any  chance  of  doing  so,  and  attachment  to  the  vessel  induced 
both  to  return  to  their  old  berths ;  for  latterly  they  had  slept 
in  hammocks,  swung  beneath  the  ship-yard  awning,  in  order  to 
be  near  their  work.  Mark  was  awoke  at  a  very  early  hour,  by 
the  howling  of  a  gale  among  the  rigging  and  spars  of  the  Ran- 
cocus,  sounds  that  he  had  not  heard  for  many  a  day,  and 
which,  at  first,  were  actually  pleasant  to  his  ears.  Throwing  on 
his  clothes,  and  going  out  on  the  quarter-deck,  he  found  that  a 
tempest  was  upon  them.  The  storm  far  exceeded  any  thing 
that  he  had  ever  before  witnessed  in  the  Pacific.  The  ocean 
was  violently  agitated,  and  the  rollers  came  in  over  the  reef,  to 
windward,  with  a  force  and  majesty  that  seemed  to  disregard 
the  presence  of  the  rocks.  It  was  just  light,  and  Mark  called 
Bob,  in  alarm.  The  aspect  of  things  was  really  serious,  and, 
at  first,  our  mariners  had  great  apprehensions  for  the  safety  of 
the  ship.  It  was  true,  the  sea-wall  resisted  every  shock  of  the 
rollers  that  reached  it,  but  even  the  billows  after  they  were 
broken  by  this  obstacle,  came  down  upon  the  vessel  with  a 
violence  that  brought  a  powerful  strain  on  every  rope-yarn  in 
the  sheet-cable.  Fortunately,  the  ground-tackle,  on  which  the 
safety  of  the  vessel  depended,  was  of  the  very  best  quality,  and 
the  anchor  was  known  to  have  an  excellent  hold.  Then,  the 
preservation  of  the  ship  was  no  longer  a  motive  of  the  first 
consideration  with  them  ;  that  of  the  pinnace  being  the  thing 
now  most  to  be  regarded.  It  might  grieve  them  both  to  see 
the  Rancocus  thrown  upon  the  rocks,  and  broken  up  ;  but  of 
far  greater  account  was  it  to  their  future  prospects  that  the 
Neshamony  should  not  be  injured.  Nor  were  the  signs  of  the 
danger  that  menaced  the  boat  to  be  disregarded.  The  water 
of  the  ocean  appeared  to  be  piling  in  among  these  reefs,  the 
rocks  of  which  resisted  its  passage  to  leeward,  and  already  was 
washing  up  on  the  surface  of  the  reef,  in  places,  threatening 
them  with  a  general  inundation.  It  was  necessary  to  look  after 
the  security  of  various  articles  that  were  scattered  about  on  the 
outer  plain,  and  our  mariners  went  ashore  to  do  so. 


132  the    crater: 

Although,  intending  so  soon  to  abandon  the  reef  altogether, 
a  sense  of  caution  induced  Mark  to  take  every  thing  he  could 
within  the  crater.  All  the  lo\»er  portions  of  the  outer  plain 
were  already  covered  with  water,  and  those  sagacious  creatures, 
the  hogs,  showed  by  their  snuffing  and  disturbed  manner  of 
running  about,  that  they  had  internal  as  well  as  external  warn- 
ings of  danger.  Mark  pulled  aside  the  curtain,  and  let  all  the 
animals  into  the  crater.  Poor  Kitty  was  delighted  to  get  on 
the  Summit,  whither  she  soon  found  her  way,  by  ascending 
the  steps  commonly  used  by  her  masters.  Fortunately  for  the 
plants,  the  grass  was  in  too  great  abundance,  and  too  grateful 
to  her,  not  to  be  her  choice  in  preference  to  any  other  food. 
As  for  the  pigs,  they  got  at  work  in  a  pile  of  sea-weed,  and 
overlooked  the  garden,  which  was  at  some  distance,  until  fairly 
glutted,  and  ready  to  lie  down. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  tempest  increased  in  violence,  the  sea 
continued  to  pile  among  the  rocks,  and  the  water  actually  cov- 
ered the  whole  of  the  outer  plain  of  the  reef.  Now  it  was 
that  Mark  comprehended  how  the  base  of  the  crater  had  been 
worn  by  water,  the  waves  washing  past  it  with  tremendous 
violence.  There  was  actually  a  strong  current  running  over  the 
whole  of  the  reef,  without  the  crater ;  the  water  rushing  to 
leeward,  as  if  glad  to  get  past  the  obstacle  of  the  island  on  any 
terms,  in  order  to  hasten  away  before  the  tempest.  Mark  was 
fully  half  an  hour  engaged  in  looking  to  his  marquee  and  its 
contents,  all  of  which  were  exposed,  more  or  less,  to  the  power 
of  the  gale.  After  securing  his  books,  furniture,  etc.,  and  see- 
ing that  the  stays  of  the  marquee  itself  were  likely  to  hold  out, 
he  cast  an  eye  to  the  ship,  which  was  on  that  side  of  the  island, 
also.  The  staunch  old  'Cocus,  as  Bob  called  her,  was  rising 
and  falling  with  the  waves  that  now  disturbed  her  usually  placid 
basin ;  but,  as  yet,  her  cable  and  anchor  held  her,  and  no  harm 
was  done.  Fortunately,  our  mariners,  when  they  unbent  the 
sails,  had  sent  down  all  the  upper  and  lighter  spars,  and  had 
lowered  the  fore  and  main  yards  on  the  gunwale,  measures  of 
precaution  that  greatly  lessened  the  strain  on  her  ground-tackle. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  133 

The  top-gallant-masts  had  also  been  lowered,  and  the  vessel 
was  what  seamen  usually  term  "  snug."  Mark  would  have 
been  very,  very  sorry  to  see  her  lost,  even  though  he  did  expect 
to  have  very  little  more  use  out  of  her ;  for  he  loved  the  craft 
from  habit. 

After  taking  this  look  at  the  ship,  our  mate  passed  round  the 
Summit,  having  two  or  three  tumbles  on  his  way  in  consequence 
of  puffs  of  wind,  until  he  reached  the  point  over  the  gateway, 
which  was  that  nearest  to  the  ship-yard.  It  now  occurred  to 
him  that  possibly  it  might  become  necessary  to  look  a  little  to 
the  security  of  the  Neshamony,  for,  by  this  time,  the  water  on 
the  reef  was  two  or  three  feet  deep.  To  his  surprise,  on  look- 
ing round  for  Bob,  whom  he  thought  to  be  at  work  securing 
property  near  the  gateway,  he  ascertained  that  the  honest  fellow 
had  waded  down  to  the  ship-yard,  and  clambered  on  board  the 
pinnace,  with  a  view  to  take  care  of  her.  The  distance  between 
the  point  where  Mark  now  stood  and  the  Neshamony,  exceeded 
half  a  mile,  and  communication  with  the  voice  would  have  been 
next  to  impossible,  had  the  wind  not  blown  as  it  did.  With 
the  roaring  of  the  seas  and  the  howling  of  the  gale,  it  was,  of 
course,  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Mark,  however,  could  see 
his  friend,  and  see  that  he  was  gesticulating,  in  the  most  earnest 
manner,  for  himself  to  join  him.  Then  it  was  he  first  perceived 
that  the  pinnace  was  in  motion,  seeming  to  move  on  her  ways. 
Presently  the  blockings  were  washed  from  under  her,  and  the 
boat  went  astern  half  her  length  at  a  single  surge.  Mark  made 
a  bound  down  the  hill,  intending  to  throw  himself  into  the  rag- 
ing surf,  and  to  swim  off  to  the  aid  of  Betts ;  but,  pausing  an 
instant  to  choose  a  spot  at  which  to  get  down  the  steep,  he 
looked  toward  the  ship-yard,  and  saw  the  pinnace  lifted  on  a 
sea,  and  washed  fairly  clear  of  the  land  ! 


134  the  crater: 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"Man 's  rich  with  little,  were  his  judgments  true ; 
Nature  is  frugal,  and  her  wants  are  few; 
These  few  wants  answered  bring  sincere  delights, 
But  fools  create  themselves  new  appetites." 

YotTNO. 

It  would  have  been  madness  in  Mark  to  pursue  his  intention. 
A  boat,  or  craft  of  any  sort,  once  adrift  in  such  a  gale,  could 
not  have  been  overtaken  by  even  one  of  those  islanders  who  are 
known  to  pass  half  their  lives  in  the  water ;  and  the  young  man 
sunk  down  on  the  rock,  almost  gasping  for  breath  in  the  inten- 
sity of  his  distress.  He  felt  more  for  Bob  than  he  did  for  him- 
self, for  escape  with  life  appeared  to  him  to  be  a  forlorn  hope 
for  his  friend.  Nevertheless,  the  sturdy  old  sea-dog  who  was 
cast  adrift  amid  the  raging  of  the  elements,  comported  himself 
in  a  way  to  do  credit  to  his  training.  There  was  nothing  like 
despair  in  his  manner  of  proceeding ;  but  so  coolly  and  intelli- 
gently did  he  set  about  taking  care  of  his  craft,  that  Mark  soon 
found  himself  a  curious  and  interested  observer  of  all  he  did, 
feeling  quite  as  much  of  admiration  for  Bob's  steadiness  and 
skill,  as  concern  for  his  danger. 

Betts  knew  too  well  the  uselessness  of  throwing  over  his 
kedge  to  attempt  anchoring.  Nor  was  it  safe  to  keep  the  boat 
in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  his  wisest  course  being  to  run  before 
the  gale  until  he  was  clear  of  the  rocks,  when  he  might  en- 
deavor to  lie-to,  if  his  craft  would  bear  it.  In  driving  off  the 
reef,  the  Neshamony  had  gone  stern  foremost,  almost  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  vessels  usually  being  laid  down  with  their,  bows 
toward  the  land.  No  sooner  did  the  honest  old  salt  find  he 
was  fairly  adrift,  therefore,  than  he  jumped  into  the  stern-sheets 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  135 

and  put  the  helm  down.  With  stern-way  on  her,  this  caused 
the  bows  of  the  craft  to  fall  off;  and,  as  she  came  broadside  to 
the  gale,  Mark  thought  she  would  fall  over,  also.  Some  idea 
could  be  formed  of  the  power  of  the  wind,  in  the  fact  that  this 
sloop-rigged  craft,  without  a  rag  of  sail  set,  and  with  scarce  any 
hamper  aloft,  no  sooner  caught  the  currents  of  air  abeam,  than 
she  lay  down  to  it,  as  one  commonly  sees  such  craft  do  under 
their  canvas  in  stiff  breezes. 

It  was  a  proof  that  the  Neshamony  was  well  modelled,  that 
she  began  to  draw  ahead  as  soon  as  the  wind  took  her  fairly  on 
her  broadside,  when  Betts  shifted  tbe  helm,  and  the  pinnace 
fell  slowly  off.  When  she  had  got  nearly  before  the  wind,  she 
came  up  and  rolled  to  windward  like  a  ship,  and  Mark  scarce 
breathed  as  he  saw  her  plunging  down  upon  the  reefs,  like  a 
frantic  steed  that  knows  not  whither  he  is  rushing  in  his  terror. 
From  the  elevated  position  he  occupied,  Mark  could  see  the. 
ocean  as  far  as  the  spray,  which  filled  the  atmosphere,  would 
allow  of  any  thing  being  seen  at  all.  Places  which  were  usually 
white Vith  the  foam  of  breakers,  could  not  now  be  distinguished 
from  any  of  the  raging  cauldron  around  them,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  Bob  must  run  at  hazard.  Twenty  times  did  Mark 
expect  to  see  the  pinnace  disappear  in  the  foaming  waves,  as  it 
drove  furiously  onward  ;  but  in  each  instance,  the  light  and 
buoyant  boat  came  up  from  cavities  where  our  young  man 
fancied  it  must  be  dashed  to  pieces,  scudding  away  to  leeward 
like  the  sea- fowl  that  makes  its  flight  with  wings  nearly  dipping. 
Mark  now  began  to  hope  that  his  friend  might  pass  over  the 
many  reefs  that  lay  in  his  track,  and  gain  the  open  water  to 
leeward.  The  rise  in  the  ocean  favored  such  an  expectation, 
and  no  doubt  was  the  reason  why  the  Neshamony  was  not 
dashed  to  pieces  within  the  first  five  minutes  after  she  was 
washed  off  her  ways.  Once  to  leeward  of  the  vast  shoals  that 
surrounded  the  crater,  there  was  the  probability  of  Bob's  find- 
ing smoother  water,  and  the  chance  of  his  riding  out  the  tern 
pest  by  bringing  his  little  sloop  up  head  to  sea.  The  water 
through  which  the  boat  was  then   running   was   more  like  a 


136  the    crater: 

cauldron,  bubbling  and  boiling'  under  some  intense  heat  pro- 
duced by  subterranean  fires,  than  tbe  regular,  rolling  billows  of 
the  ocean  when  piled  up  by  gales.  Under  the  lee  of  the  shoals 
this  cauldron  would  disappear,  while  the  mountain  waves  of 
the  open  ocean  could  not  rise  until  a  certain  distance  from  the 
shallow  water  enabled  them  to  "get  up,"  as  sailors  express  it. 
Mark  saw  the  Neshamony  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after 
she  was  adrift,  though  long  before  the  expiration  of  even  that 
brief  peiiod  she  was  invisible  for  many  moments  at  a  time,  in 
consequence  of  the  distance,  her  want  of  sail,  her  lowness  in 
the  water,  and  the  troubled  state  of  the  element  through  which 
she  was  driving.  The  last  look  he  got  of  her  was  at  an  instant 
when  the  spray  was  filling  the  atmosphere  like  a  passing  cloud; 
when  it  had  driven  away,  the  boat,  could  no  longer  be  seen  ! 

Here  was  a  sudden  and  a  most  unexpected  change  for  the 
worse  in  the  situation  of  Mark  Woolstou  !  Not  only  had  he 
lost  the  means  of  getting  off  the  island,  but  he  had  lost  his 
friend  and  companion.  It  was  true,  Bob  was  a  rough  and  an 
uncultivated  associate  ;  but  he  was  honest  as  human  frailty 
could  leave  a  human  being,  true  as  steel  in  his  attachments, 
strong  in  body,  and  of  great  professional  skill.  So  great,  indeed, 
was  the  last,  that  our  young  man  was  not  without  the  hope  he 
would  be  able  to  keep  under  the  lee  of  the  shoals  until  the  gale 
broke,  and  then  beat  up  through  them,  and  still  come  to  his 
rescue.  There  was  one  point,  in  particular,  on  which  Mark  felt 
'unusual  concern.  Bob  knew  nothing  whatever  of  navigation. 
It  was  impossible  to  teach  him  any  thing  on  that  subject.  He 
knew  the  points  of  the  compass,  but  had  no  notion  of  the 
variations,  of  latitude  or  longitude,  or  of  any  thing  belonging 
to  the  purely  mathematical  part  of  the  business.  Twenty  times 
had  he  asked  Mark  to  give  him  the  latitude  and  longitude  of 
the  crater;  twTenty  times  had  he  been  told  what  they  were, 
and  just  as  often  had  he  forgotten  them.  When  questioned  by 
his  young  friend,  twenty-four  hours  after  a  lesson  of  this  sort, 
if  he  remembered  the  figures  at  all,  he  was  apt  to  give  the  lati- 
tude for  the  longitude,  or  the  longitud.e  for  the  latitude,  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  137 

degrees  for  the  minutes,  or  the  minutes  for  the  degrees.  Or- 
dinarily, however,  he  forgot  all  about  the  numbers  themselves. 
Mark  had  in  vain  endeavored  to  impress  on  his  mind  the  single 
fact  that  any  number  which  exceeded  ninety  must  necessarily 
refer  to  longitude,  and  not  to  latitude  ;  for  Bob  could  not  be 
made  to  remember  even  this  simple  distinction.  He  was  just 
as  likely  to  believe  the  reef  lay  in  the  hundred  and  twentieth 
degree  of  latitude,  as  he  was  to  fancy  it  lay  in  the  twentieth. 
With  such  a  head,  therefore,  it  was  but  little  to  be  expected 
Bob  could  give  the  information  to  others  necessary  to  find  the 
reef,  even  in  the  almost  hopeless  event  of  his  ever  being  placed 
in  circumstances  to  do  so.  Still,  while  so  completely  ignorant 
of  mathematics  and  arithmetic,  in  all  their  details,  few  mariners 
would  find  their  way  better  than  Bob  Betts  by  the  simple  signs 
of  the  ocean.  He  understood  the  compass  perfectly,  the  varia- 
tions excepted ;  and  his  eye  was  as  true  as  that  of  the  most  ex- 
perienced artist  could  be,  when  it  became  necessary  to  judge  of 
the  color  of  the  water.  On  many  occasions  had -Mark  known 
him  intimate  that  the  ship  was  in  a  current,  and  had  a  weather- 
ly  or  a  lee  set,  when  the  fact  had  escaped  not  only  the  officers, 
but  the  manufacturers  of  the  charts.  He  judged  by  ripples,  and 
sea-weed,  and  the  other  familiar  signs  of  the  seas,  and  these 
■seldom  failed  him.  While,  therefore,  there  was  not  a  seaman 
living  less  likely  to  find  the  reef  again,  when  driven  off  from  its 
vicinity,  by  means  of  observations  and  the  charts,  there  was  not 
a  seaman  living  more  likely  to  find  it,  by  resorting  to  the  other 
helps  of  the  navigator.  On  this  last  peculiarity  Mark  hang  all 
his  hopes  of  seeing  his  friend  again,  when  the  gale  should 
abate. 

Since  the  moment  when  all  the  charge  of  the  ship  fell  upon  his 
shoulders,  by  the  loss  of  Captain  Crutchely,  Mark  had  never  felt 
so  desolate,  as  when  he  lost  sight  of  Bob  and  the  Neshamony. 
Then,  indeed,  did  he  truly  feel  himself  to  be  alone,  with  none 
between  him  and  his  God  with  whom  to  commune.  It  is  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that  one  so  much  disposed  to  cherish  his 
intercourse  with  the  Divine  Spirit,  knelt  on  the  naked  rock  and 


138  the    crater: 

prayed.  After  this  act  of  duty  and  devotion,  the  young  man 
arose,  and  endeavored  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  state  of 
things  around  him. 

The  gale  still  continued  with  unabated  fury.  Each  instant  the 
water  rose  higher  and  higher  on  the  reef,  until  it  began  to  enter 
within  the  crater,  by  means  of  the  gutters  that  had  been  worn  in 
the  lava,  covering  two  or  three  acres  of  the  lower  part  of  its  plain. 
As  for  the  Rancocus,  though  occasionally  pitching  more  heavily 
than  our  young  man  could  have  believed  possible,  behind  the 
sea-wall,  her  anchor  still  held,  and  no  harm  had  yet  come  to 
her.  Finding  it  impossible  to  do  any  more,  Mark  descended 
into  the  crater,  where  it  was  a  perfect  lull,  though  the  wind 
fairly  howled  on  every  side,  and  got  into  one  of  the  South 
American  hammocks,  of  which  there  had  been  two  or  three  in 
the  ship,  and  of  which  he  had  caused  one  to  be  suspended  be- 
neath the  sort  of  tent  he  and  poor  Bob  had  erected  near  the 
garden.  Here  Mark  remained  all  the  rest  of  that  day  and 
during  the  whole  of  the  succeeding  night.  But  for  what  he 
had  himself  previously  seen,  the  roar  of  the  ocean  on  the  other 
side  of  his  rocky  shelter,  and  the  scuffling  of  the  wines  about  the 
Summit,  he  might  not  have  been  made  cofiScions  of  the  vio- 
lence of  the  tempest  that  was  raging  so  near  him.  Once  and 
awhile,  however,  a  puff  of  air  would  pass  over  him  ;  but,  on  the 
whole,  he  was  little  affected  by  the  storm,  until  near  morning, 
when  it  rained  violently.  Fortunately,  Mark  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  give  a  low  ridge  to  all  his  awnings  and  tent-coverings, 
which  turned  the  water  perfectly.  When,  therefore,  he  heard 
the  pattering  of  the  drops  on  the  canvas,  he  did  not  rise,  but 
remained  in  his  hammock  until  the  day  returned.  Previously 
to  that  moment,  however,  he  dropped  into  a  deep  sleep,  in 
which  he  lay  several  hours. 

AVhen  consciousness  returned  to  Mark,  he  lay  half  a  minute 
trying  to  recall  the  past.  Then  he  listened  for  the  sounds  of  the 
tempest.  All  was  still  without,  and,  rising,  he  found  that  the 
sun  was  shining,  and  that  a  perfect  calm  reigned  in  the  outer 
world.     Water  was  lying  in  spots,  in  holes  on  the  surface  of  the 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  139 

crater,  where  the  pigs  were  drinking  and  the  ducks  bathing. 
Kitty  stood  in  sight,  on  the  topmost  knoll  of  the  Summit,  crop- 
ping the  young  sweet  grass  that  had  so  lately  been  refreshe  1 
by  rain,  disliking  it  none  the  less,  probably,  from  the  circum- 
stance that  a  few  particles  of  salt  were  to  be  found  among  it 
— the  deposit  of  the  spray.  The  garden  looked  smiling,  the 
plants  refreshed,  and  nothing,  as  yet,  touched  in  it,  by  the  visit- 
ors who  had  necessarily  been  introduced. 

Our  young  man  washed  himself  in  one  of  the  pools,  and  then 
crossed  the  plain  to  drive  out  the  pigs  and  poultry,  the  necessity 
of  husbanding  his  stores  pressing  even  painfully  on  his  mind 
As  he  approached  the  gateway,  he  saw  that  the  sea  had  retired; 
and,  certain  that  the  animals  would  take  care  of  themselves,  he 
drove  them  through  the  hole,  and  dropped  the  sail  before  it. 
Then  he  sought  one  of  the  ascents,  and  was  soon  on  the  top  of 
the  hill.  The  trades  had  returned,  but  scarce  blew  in  zephyrs ; 
the  sea  was  calm  ;  the  points  in  the  reefs  were  easily  to  be  seen; 
the  ship  was  at  rest,  and,  seemingly,  uninjured,  and  the  whole 
view  was  one  of  the  sweetest  tranquillity  and  security.  Already 
had  the  pent  and  piled  waters  diffused  themselves,  leaving  the 
reef  as  before,  with  the  exception  that  those  cavities  which  con- 
tained rain  water,  during  most  of  the  year,  now  contained  that 
which  was  not  quite  so  palatable.  This  was  a  great  temporary 
inconvenience,  though  the  heavy  showers  of  the  past  night  had 
done  a  good  deal  toward  sweetening  the  face  of  the  rock,  and 
had  reduced  most  of  the  pools  to  a  liquid  that  was  brackish, 
rather  than  salt.  A  great  many  fish  lay  scattered  about,  on  the 
island,  and  Mark  hastened  down  to  examine  their  qualities. 

The  pigs  and  poultry  were  already  at  work  on  the  game  that 
was  so  liberally  thrown  in  their  way,  and  Mark  felt  indebted  to 
these  scavengers  for  aiding  him  in  what  he  perceived  was  now 
a  task  indispensable  to  his  comfort.  After  going  to  the  ship, 
and  breaking  his  fast,  he  returned  to  the  crater,  obtained  a 
wheelbarrow,  and  set  to  work  in  earnest  to  collect  the  fish, 
which  a  very  few  hours'  exposure  to  the  sun  of  that  climate 
would  render  so  offensive  as  to  make  the  island  next  to  intulera- 


140  the    crater: 

ble.  Never  in  his  life  did  our  young  friend  work  harder  than 
he  did  all  that  morning.  Each  load  of  fish,  as  it  was  wheeled 
into  the  crater,  was  thrown  into  a  trench  already  prepared  for 
that  purpose,  and  the  ashes  were  hauled  over  it  by  means  of  the 
hoe.  Feeling  the  necessity  of  occupation  to  lessen  his  sorrow, 
as  well  as  that  of  getting  rid  of  pestilence,  which  he  seriously 
apprehended  from  this  inroad  of  animal  substances,  Mark  toiled 
two  whole  days  at  this  work,  until  fairly  driven  from  it  by  the 
intolerable  effluvium  which  arose,  notwithstanding  all  he  had 
done,  on  every  side  of  the  island.  It  is  impossible  to  say  what 
would  have  been  the  consequences  had  not  the  birds  come,  in 
thousands,  to  his  relief.  They  made  quick  work  of  it,  clearing 
off  the  fish  in  numbers  that  would  be  nearly  incredible.  As  it 
was,  however,  our  young  hermit  was  driven  into  the  ship,  where 
he  passed  a  whole  week,  the  steadiness  of  the  trades  driving  the 
disagreeable  odors  to  leeward.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  ven- 
tured ashore,  where  he  found  it  possible  to  remain,  though  the 
reef  did  not  get  purified  for  more  than  a  month.  Finding  a 
great  many  fish  still  remaining  that  neither  hog  nor  bird  would 
touch,  Mark  made  a  couple  of  voyages  to  Loam  Island,  whence 
he  brought  two  cargoes  of  the  deposit,  and  landed  at  the  usual 
place.  This  he  wheeled  about  the  reef,  throwing  two  or  three 
shovelfuls  on  each  offensive  creature,  thus  getting  rid  of  the 
effluvium  and  preparing  a  considerable  store  of  excellent  manure 
for  his  future  husbandry.  It  may  be  as  well  said  here,  that,  at 
odd  times,  he  threw  these  little  deposits  into  l^rge  heaps,  and 
subsequently  wheeled  them  into  the  crater,  where  they  were 
mixed  with  the  principal  pile  of  compost  that  had  now  been  for 
months  collecting  there. 

It  is  a  proof  of  the  waywardness  of  human  nature,  that  we  bear 
great  misfortunes  better  than  small  ones.  So  it  proved  with 
Mark,  on  this  occasion ;  for,  much  as  he  really  regarded  Bob, 
and  serious  as  was  the  loss  of  his  friend  to  himself,  the  effects 
of  the  inundation  occupied  his  thoughts  and  disturbed  him 
more,  just  at  that  time,  than  the  disappearance  of  the  Nesha- 
mony.     Nevertheless,  our  young  man  had  not  forgotten  to  look 


OR,      VULCAN S      PEAK 


141 


out  for  the  missing  boat,  in  readiness  to  hail  its  return  with  joy. 
He  passed  much-of  the  week  he  was  shut  up  in  the  ship  in  her 
top-mast  cross-trees,  vainly  examining  the  sea  to  leeward,  in  the 
hope  of  catching  a  distant  view  of  the  pinnace  endeavoring  to 
bear  up  through  the  reefs.  Several  times  he  actually  fancied  he 
saw  her ;  but  it  always  turned  out  to  be  the  wing  of  some  gull, 
or  the  cap  of  a  distant  breaker.  It  was  when  Mark  had  come 
ashore  again,  and  commenced  the  toil  of  covering  the  decayed 
fish,  and  of  gathering  them  into  piles,  that  these  smaller  mat- 
ters supplanted  the  deep  griefs  of  his  solitude. 

One  of  the  annoyances  to  which  our  solitary  man  found  him- 
self most  subject,  was  the  glare  produced  by  a  burning  sun  on 
rocks  and  ashes  of  the  drab  color  of  the  crater.  The  spots  of 
verdure  that  he  had  succeeded  in  producing  on  the  Summit,  not 
only  relieved  and  refreshed  his  eyes,  but  they  were  truly  de- 
lightful as  aids  to  the  view,  as  well  as  grateful  to  Kitty,  which 
poor  creature  had,  by  this  time,  cropped  them  down  to  a  pretty 
short  herbage.  This  Mark  knew,  however,  was  an  advantage  to 
the  grass,  making  it  finer,  and  causing  it  to  thicken  at  the  roots. 
The  success  of  this  experiment,  the  annoyance  to  his  eyes,  and 
a  feverish  desire  to  be  doing,  which  succeeded  the  disappear- 
ance of  Betts,  set  Mark  upon  the  project  of  sowing  grass  seed 
over  as  much  of  the  plain  of  the  crater  as  he  thought  he  should 
not  have  occasion  to  use  for  the  purposes  of  tillage.  To  work 
he  went,  then,  scattering  the  seed  in  as  much  profusion  as  the 
quantity  to  be  found  in  the  ship  would  justify.  Friend  Abra- 
ham White  had  provided  two  barrels  of  the  seed,  and  this  went 
a  good  way.  While  thus  employed,  a  heavy  shower  fell,  and 
thinking  the  rain  a  must  favorable  time  to  commit  his  grass 
seeds  to  the  earth,  Mark  worked  through  the  whole  of  it,  or  for 
several  hours,  perspiring  with  the  warmth  and  exercise. 

This  done,  a  look  at  the  garden,  with  a  free  use  of  the  hoe, 
was  the  next  thing  undertaken.  That  night  Mark  slept  in  his 
hammock,  under  the  crater  awning,  and  when  he  awoke  in  the 
morning  it  was  to  experience  a  weight  like  that  of  lead  in  his 
forehead,  a  raging  thirst,  and  a  burning  fever.     Now  it  was 


142  the    crater: 

that  our  poor  solitary  hermit  felt  the  magnitude  of  his  impru- 
dence and  the  weight  of  the  evils  of  his  peculiar  situation. 
That  he  was  about  to  be  seriously  ill  he  knew,  and  it  behoved 
him  to  improve  the  time  that  remained  to  him,  to  the  utmost. 
Every  thing  useful  to  him  was  in  the  ship,  and  thither  it  be- 
came indispensable  for  him  to  repair,  if  he  wished  to  retain 
even  a  chance  for  life.  Opening  an  umbrella,  then,  and  sup- 
porting his  tottering  legs  by  a  cane,  Mark  commenced  a  walk 
of  very  near  a  mile,  under  an  almost  perpendicular  sun,  at  the 
hottest  season  of  the  year.  Twenty  times  did  the  young  man 
think  he  should  be  compelled  to  sink  on  the  bare  rock,  where 
there  is  little  question  he  would  soon  have  expired,  under  the 
united  influence  of  the  fever  within  and  the  burning  heat  with- 
out. Despair  urged  him  on,  and,  after  pausing  often  to  rest, 
he  succeeded  in  entering  the  cabin,  at  the  end  of  the  most  peril- 
ous hour  he  had  ever  yet  passed. 

No  words  of  ours  can  describe  the  grateful  sense  of  coolness, 
in  spite  of  the  boiling  blood  in  his  veins,  that  Mark  Woolston 
experienced  when  he  stepped  beneath  the  shade  of  the  poop- 
deck  of  the  Rancocus.  The  young  man  knew  that  he  was 
about  to  be  seriously  ill,  and  his  life  might  depend  on  the  use 
he  made  of  the  next  hour,  or  half  hour,  even.  He  threw  him- 
self on  a  settee,  to  get  a  little  rest,  and  while  there  he  endeav- 
ored to  reflect  on  his  situation,  and  to  remember  what  he 
ought  to  do.  The  medicine-chest  always  stood  in  the  cabin, 
and  he  had  used  its  contents  too  often  among  the  crew,  not  to 
have  some  knowledge  of  their  general  nature  and  uses.  Potions 
were  kept  prepared  in  that  depository,  and  he  staggered  to  the 
table,  opened  the  chest,  took  a  ready-mixed  dose  of  the  sort 
he  believed  best  for  him,  poured  water  on  it  from  the  filterer, 
and  swallowed  it.  Our  mate  ever  afterward  believed  that 
draught. saved  his  life.  It  soon  made  him  deadly  sick,  and 
produced  an  action  in  his  whole  system.  For  an  hour  he  was 
under  its  influence,  when  he  was  enabled  to  get  into  his  berth, 
exhausted  and  literally  unable  any  longer  to  stand.  How  long 
he  remained  in  that  berth,  or  near  it  rather — for  he  was  con- 


OR,     V  U  LOANS      PEAK.  143 

scious  of  having  crawled  from  it  in  quest  of  water,  and  for 
other  purposes,  on  several  occasions — but,  how  long  he  was 
confined  to  his  cabin,  Mark  Woolston  never  knew.  The  period 
was  certainly  to  be  measured  by  clays,  and  he  sometimes  fan- 
cied by  weeks.  The  first,  probably,  was  the  truth,  though  it 
might  have  been  a  fortnight.  Most  of  that  time  his  head  was 
light  with  fever,  though  there  were  intervals  when  reason  was, 
at  least  partially,  restored  to  him,  and  he  became  painfully  con- 
scious of  the  horrors  of  his  situation.  Of  food  and  water  he 
had  a  sufficiency,  the  filterer  and  a  bread-bag  being  quite  near 
him,  and  he  helped  himself  often  from  the  first,  in  particular ; 
a  single  mouthful  of  the  ship's  biscuit  commonly  proving  more 
than  he  could  swallow,  even  after  it  was  softened  in  the  water. 
At  length  he  found  himself  indisposed  to  rise  at  all,  and  he 
certainly  remained  eight-and-forty  hours  in  his  berth,  without 
quitting  it,  and  almost  without  sleeping,  though  most  of  the 
time  in  a  sort  of  doze. 

At  length  the  fever  abated  in  its  violence,  though  it  began  to 
assume,  what  for  a  man  in  Mark  Woolston's  situation  was  per- 
haps more  dangerous,  a  character  of  a  low  type,  lingering  in  his 
system  and  killing  him  by  inches.  Mark  was  aware  of  his  con- 
dition, and  thought  of  the  means  of  relief.  The  ship  had  some 
good  Philadelphia  porter  in  her,  and  a  bottle  of  it  stood  on  a 
shelf  over  his  berth.  This  object  caught  his  eye,  and  he  actually 
longed  for  a  draught  of  that  porter.  He  had  sufficient  strength 
to  raise  himself  high  enough  to  reach  it,  but  it  far  exceeded  his 
powers  to  draw  the  cork,  even  had  the  ordinary  means  been  at 
hand,  which  they  were  not.  There  was  a  hammer  on  the  shelf, 
however,  and  with  that  instrument  he  did  succeed  in  making  a 
hole  in  the  side  of  the  bottle,  and  in  filling  a  tumbler.  This 
liquor  he  swallowed  at  a  single  draught.  It  tasted  deliciously 
to  him,  and  he  took  a  second  tumblerful,  when  he  lay  down, 
uncertain  as  to  the  consequences.  That  his  head  was  affected 
by  these  two  glasses  of  porter,  Mark  himself  was  soon  aware, 
and  shortly  after  drowsiness  followed.  After  lying  in  an  Uneasy 
6lumber  for  half  an  hour,  his  whole  person  was  covered  with  a 


144  the    crater: 

gentle  perspiration,  in  which  condition,  after  drawing  the  sheet 
around  him,  the  sick  man  fell  asleep. 

Our  patient  never  knew  how  long  he  slept,  on  this  all-impor- 
tant occasion.  The  period  certainly  included  part  of  two  days 
and  one  entire  night ;  but  afterward,  when  Mark  endeavored  to 
correct  his  calendar,  and  to  regain  something  like  a  record  of 
the  time,  he  was  inclined  to  think  he  must  have  lain  there  two 
nights  with  the  intervening  day.  When  he  awoke,  Mark  was 
immediately  sensible  that  he  was  free  from  disease.  He  was  not 
immediately  sensible,  nevertheless,  hew  extremely  feeble  dis- 
ease had  left  him.  At  first,  be  fancied  he  had  only  to  rise, 
take  nourishment,  and  go  about  his  ordinary  pursuits.  But  the 
sight  of  his  emaciated  limbs,  and  the  first  effort  he  made  to  get 
up,  convinced  him  that  he  had  a  long  state  of  probation  to  go 
through,  before  he  became  the  man  he  had  been  a  week  or  two 
before.  It  was  well,  perhaps,  that  his  head  was  so  clear,  and 
his  judgment  so  unobscured,  at  this,  his  first  return  to  conscious- 
ness. 

Mark  deemed  it  a  good  symptom  that  he  felt  disposed  to  eat. 
How  many  days  he  had  been  altogether  without  nourishment 
he  could  not  say,  but  they  must  have  been  several  ;  nor  bad  he 
received  more  than  could  be  obtained  from  a  single  ship's  bis- 
cuit since  his  attack.  All  this  came  to  his  mind,  with  a  dis- 
tinct recollection  that  he  must  be  his  own  physician  and  nurse. 
For  a  few  minutes  he  lay  still,  during  which  he  addressed  him- 
self to  God,  with  thanks  for  having  spared  his  life  until  reason 
was  restored.  Then  he  bethought  him,  as  well  as  his  feeble  state 
would  allow,  of  the  course  he  ought  to  pursue.  On  a  table  in 
the  cabin,  and  in  sight  of  his  berth,  through  the  state-room 
door,  was  a  liquor-case,  containing  wines,  brandy,  and  gin. 
Our  sick  man  thought  all  might  yet  go  well,  could  he  get  a 
few  spoonfuls  of  an  excellent  port  wine  which  that  case  contained, 
and  which  had  been  provided  expressly  for  cases  of  sickness.  To 
do  this,  however,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  the  key,  to  open  the 
case,  and  to  pour  out  the  liquor ;  three  things,  of  which  he  dis- 
trusted his  powers  to  perform  that  which  was  the  least  difficult. 


OR,     VULCAN    8      PEAK.  145 

The  key  of  the  liquor-case  was  in  the  drawer  of  an  open  sec- 
retary, which,  fortunately,  stood  between  him  and  the  table. 
Another  effort  was  made  to  rise,  which  so  far  succeeded  as  to 
enable  the  invalid  to  sit  up  in  his  bed.  The  cool  breeze  which 
aired  the  cabin  revived  him  a  little,  and  he  was  able  to  stretch 
out  a  hand  and  turn  the  cock  of  the  filterer,  which  he  had  him- 
self drawn  near  his  berth,  while  under  the  excitement  of  fever, 
in  order  to  obtain  easy  access  to  water.  Accidentally  this 
filterer  stood  in  a  draught,  and  the  quart  or  two  of  water  that 
had  not  yet  evaporated  was  cool  and  palatable ;  that  is,  cool  for 
a  ship  and  such  a  climate.  One  swallow  of  the  water  was  all 
Mark  ventured  on,  but  it  revived  him  more  than  he  could  be- 
lieve possible.  Near  the  glass  into  which  he  had  drawn  the 
water,  lay  a  small  piece  of  pilot  bread,  and  this  he  dropped  into 
the  tumbler.  Then  he  ventured  to  try  his  feet,  when  he  found 
a  dizziness  come  over  him,  that  compelled  him  to  fall  back  on 
his  berth.  Recovering  from  this  in  a  minute  or  two,  a  second 
attempt  succeeded  better,  and  the  poor  fellow,  by  supporting 
himself  against  the  bulkheads,  and  by  leaning  on  chairs,  was 
enabled  to  reach  the  desk.  The  key  was  easily  obtained,  and 
the  table  was  next  reached.  Here  Mark  sunk  into  a  chair,  as 
much  exhausted  as  he  would  have  been,  previously  to  his  illness, 
by  a  desperate  effort  to  defend  life. 

The  invalid  was  in  his  shirt,  and  the  cool  sea-breeze  had  the 
effect  of  an  air-bath  on  him.  It  revived  him  in  a  little  while, 
when  he  applied  the  key,  opened  the  case,  got  out  the  bottle 
by  using  both  hands,  though  it  was  nearly  empty,  and  poured 
out  a  wine-glass  of  the  liquor.  With  these  little  exertions  he 
was  so  much  exhausted  as  almost  to  faint.  Nothing  saved  him, 
probably,  but  a  sip  of  the  wine,  which  he  took  from  the  glass  as 
it  stood  on  the  table.  It  has  been  much  the  fashion,  of  late 
years,  to  decry  wine,  and  this  because  it  is  a  gift  of  Provi- 
dence that  has  been  greatly  abused.  In  Mark  Woolston's  in- 
stance it  proved — what  it  was  designed  to  be — a  blessing  in- 
stead of  a  curse.  That  single  sip  of  wine  produced  an  effect  on 
him  like  that  of  magic.  It  enabled  him  soon  to  obtain  his 
7 


146  the    crater: 

tumbler  of  water,  into  which  he  poured  the  remainder  of  the 
liquor.  With  the  tumbler  in  his  hand,  the  invalid  next  essayed 
to  cross  the  cabin,  and  to  reach  the  berth  in  the  other  state- 
room. He  was  two  or  three  minutes  in  making  this  pas- 
sage, sustained  by  a  chair,  into  which  he  sunk  not  less  than 
three  times,  and  revived  by  a  few  more  sips  of  the  wine-and- 
water.  In  this  state-room  was  a  bed  with  clean,  cool  linen,  that 
had  been  prepared  for  Bob,  but  which  that  worthy  fellow  had 
pertinaciously  refused  to  use,  out  of  respect  to  his  officer.  On 
these  sheets  Mark  now  sank,  almost  exhausted.  He  had  made 
a  happy  exchange,  however,  the  freshness  and  sweetness  of  the 
new  bed,  of  itself,  acting  as  delicious  restoratives. 

After  resting  a  few  minutes,  the  solitary  invalid  formed  a  new 
plan  of  proceeding.  He  knew,  the  importance  of  not  over- 
exerting himself,  but  he  also  knew  the  importance  of  cleanliness 
and  of  a  renovation  of  his  strength.  By  this  time  the  biscuit 
had  got  to  be  softened  in  the  wine-and-water,  and  he  took  a 
piece,  and,  after  masticating  it  well,  swallowed  it.  This  was 
positively  the  first  food  the  sick  and  desolate  young  man  had 
received  in  a  week.  Fully  aware  of  this,  he  abstained  from 
taking  a  second  mouthful,  though  sorely  pressed  to  it  by  hun- 
ger. So  strong  was  the  temptation,  and  so  sweet  did  that 
morsel  taste,  that  Mark  felt  he  might  not  refrain  unless  he  had 
something  to  occupy  his  mind  for  a  few  minutes.  Taking  a 
small  swallow  of  the  wine-and-water,  he  again  got  on  his  feet, 
and  staggered  to  the  drawer  in  which  poor  Captain  Crutchely 
had  kept  his  linen.  Here  he  got  a  shirt,  and  tottered  on  as  far 
as  the  quarter-deck.  Beneath  the  awning  Mark  had  kept  the 
section  of  a  hogshead,  as  a  bathing-tub,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
catching  the  rain  water  that  ran  from  the  awning,  Kitty  often 
visiting  the  ship  and  drinking  from  this  reservoir. 

The  invalid  found  the  tub  full  of  fresh  and  sweet  water,  and, 
throwing  aside  the  shirt  in  which  he  had  lain  so  long,  he  rather 
fell  than  seated  himself  in  the  water.  After  remaining  a  suffi- 
cient time  to  recover  his  breath,  Mark  washed  his  head,  and 
bng-raatted   beard,  and   all  parts  of  his  frame,  as  well  as  his 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  147 

strength  would  allow.  He  must  have  remained  in  the  water 
several  minutes,  when  he  managed  to  tear  himself  from  it,  as 
fearful  of  excess  from  this  indulgence  as  from  eating.  The  in- 
valid now  felt  like  a  new  man !  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  ex- 
press the  change  that  came  over  his  feelings,  when  he  found 
himself  purified  from  the  effects  of  so  long  a  confinement  in  a 
feverish  bed,  without  change,  or  nursing  of  any  sort.  After 
drying  himself  as  well  as  he  could  with  a  towel,  though  the 
breeze  and  the  climate  did  that  office  for  him  pretty  effectually, 
Mark  put  on  the  clean,  fresh  shirt,  and  tottered  back  to  his  own 
berth,  where  he  fell  on  the  mattress,  nearly  exhausted.  It  was 
half  an  hour  before  he  moved  again,  though  all  that  time  expe- 
riencing the  benefits  of  the  nourishment  taken,  and  the  purifi- 
cation undergone.  The  bath,  moreover,  had  acted  as  a  tcnie, 
giving  a  stimulus  to  the  whole  system.  At  the  end  of  the  half 
hour,  the  young  man  took  another  mouthful  of  the  biscuit,  half 
emptied  the  tumbler,  fell  back  on  his  pillow,  aud  was  soon  in  a 
sweet  sleep. 

It  was  near  sunset  when  Mark  lost  his  consciousness  on  this 
occasion,  nor  did  he  recover  it  until  the  light  of  day  was  once 
more  cheering  the  cabin.  He  had  slept  profoundly  twelve 
hours,  and  this  so  much  the  more  readily  from  the  circumstance 
that  he  had  previously  refreshed  himself  with  a  bath  and  clean 
linen.  The  first  consciousness  of  his  situation  was  accompanied 
with  the  bleat  of  poor  Kitty.  That  gentle  animal,  intended  by 
nature  to  mix  with  herds,  had  visited  the  cabin  daily,  and  had 
been  at  the  sick  mans  side,  when  his  fever  was  at  its  height; 
and  had  now  come  again,  as  if  to  inquire  after  his  night's  rest. 
Mark  held  out  his  hand,  and  spoke  to  his  companion,  for  such 
she  was,  and  thought  she  was  rejoiced  to  hear  his  voice  again, 
and  to  be  allowed  to  lick  his  hand.  There  was  great  consola- 
tion in  this  mute  intercourse,  poor  Mark  feeling  the  want  of 
sympathy  so  much  as  to  find  a  deep  pleasure  in  this  proof  of 
affection,  even  in  a  brute. 

Mark  now  arose,  and  found  himself  sensibly  improved  by  his 
night's  rest,  the  washing,  and  the  nourishment  received,  little 


148  the    cratbk: 

as  the  last  had  been.  His  first  step  was  to  empty  the  tumbler, 
bread  and  all.  Then  he  took  another  bath,  the  last  doing 
quite  as  much  good,  he  fancied,  as  his  breakfast.  All  that  day, 
the  young  man  managed  his  case  with  the  same  self-denial  and 
prudence,  consuming  a  ship's  biscuit  in  the  course  of  the  next 
twenty-four  hours,  and  taking  two  or  three  glasses  of  wine, 
mixed  with  water  and  sweetened  with  sugar.  In  the  afternoon 
he  endeavored  to  shave,  but  the  first  effort  convinced  him  ho 
was  getting  well  too  fast. 

It  was  thrice  twenty-four  hours  after  his  first  bath,  before 
Mark  Woolston  had  sufficient  strength  to  reach  the  galley  and 
light  a  fire.  In  this  he  then  succeeded,  and  he  treated  himself 
to  a  cup  of  good  warm  tea.  He  concocted  some  dishes  of 
arrowroot  and  cocoa,  too,  in  the  course  of  that  and  the  next 
day,  continuing  his  baths,  and  changing  his  linen  repeatedly. 
On  the  fifth  day,  he  got  off  his  beard,  which  was  a  vast  relief  to 
him,  and  by  the  end  of  the  week  he  actually  crawled  up  on  the 
poop,  where  he  could  get  a  sight  of  his  domains. 

The  Summit  was  fast  getting  to  be  really  green  in  consider- 
able patches,  for  the  whole  rock  was  now  covered  with  grass. 
Kitty  was  feeding  quietly  enough  on  the  hill-side,  the  gentle 
creature  having  learned  to  pass  the  curtain  at  the  gate,  and 
go  up  and  down  the  ascents  at  pleasure.  Mark  scarce  dared  to 
look  for  his  hogs,  but  there  they  were  rooting  and  grunting 
about  the  reef,  actually  fat  and  contented.  He  knew  that  this 
foreboded  evil  to  his  garden,  for  the  creatures  must  have  died 
for  want  of  food  during  his  illness,  had  not  some  such  relief 
been  found.  As  yet,  his  strength  would  not  allow  him  to  go 
ashore,  and  he  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  this  distant 
view  of  his  estate.  The  poultry  appeared  to  be  well,  and  the 
invalid  fancied  he  saw  chickens  running  at  the  side  of  one  of 
the  hens. 

It  was  a  week  later  before  Mark  ventured  to  go  as  far  as  the 
crater.  On  entering  it,  he  found  that  his  conjectures  concern- 
ing the  garden  were  true.  Two-thirds  of  it  had  been  dug  over 
by  the  snouts  of  his  pigs,  quite  as  effectually  as  he  could  have 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  149 

done  it,  in  his  vigor,  with  the  spade.  Tops  and  roots  had 
been  demolished  alike,  and  about  as  much  wasted  as  had  been 
consumed.  Kitty  was  found,  flagrante  delictu,  nibbling  at  the 
beans,  which,  by  this  time,  were  dead  ripe.  The  peas,  and 
beans,  and  Indian  corn  had  made  good  picking  for  the  poultry  ; 
and  every  thing  possessing  life  had  actually  been  living  in  abun- 
dance, while  the  sick  man  had  lain  unconscious  of  even  his  own 
existence,  in  a  state  as  near  death  as  life. 

Mark  found  his  awning  standing,  and  was  glad  to  rest  an 
hour  or  two  in  his  hammock,  after  looking  at  the  garden. 
While  there  the  hogs  entered  the  crater,  and  made  a  meal  be- 
fore his  eyes.  To  his  surprise,  the  sow  was  followed  by  ten 
little  creatures,  that  were  already  getting  to  be  of  the  proper 
size  for  eating.  A  ravenous  appetite  was  now  Mark's  greatest 
torment,  and  the  coarse  food  of  the  ship  "was  rather  too  heavy 
for  him.  He  had  exhausted  his  wit  in  contriving  dishes  of 
flour,  and  pined  for  something  more  grateful  than  salted  beef 
or  pork.  Although  he  somewhat  distrusted  his  strength,  yet 
longing  induced  him  to  make  an  experiment.  A  fowling-piece, 
loaded  with  ball,  was  under  the  awning  ;  and  freshening  the 
priming,  the  young  man  watched  his  opportunity  when  one  of 
the  grunters  was  in  a  good  position,  and  shot  it  in  the  head. 
Then  cutting  its  throat  with  a  knife,  he  allowed  it  to  bleed, 
when  he  cleaned  and  skinned  it.  This  last  operation  was  not 
very  artistical ;  but  it  was  necessary  in  the  situation  of  our  in- 
valid. With  the  carcase  of  this  pig,  which  was  quite  as  much 
as  he  could  even  then  carry  back  to  the  ship,  though  the  ani- 
mal was  not  yet  six  weeks  old,  Mark  made  certain  savory  and 
nourishing  dishes,  that  contributed  essentially  to  the  restoration 
i  of  his  strength.  In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  month,  three 
more  of  the  pigs  shared  the  same  fate,  as  did  half  a  dozen 
of  the  -brood  of  chickens  already  mentioned,  though  the  last 
were  not  yet  half-grown.  But  Mark  felt,  now,  as  if  he  could 
eat  the  crater,  though  as  yet  he  had  not  been  able  to  clamber 
to  the  Summit. 


150  the  crater: 


CHAPTER  X. 

"  Tea  I  long  as  nature's  humblest  child 
Hath  kept  her  temple  undcflled 

By  sinful  sacrifice, 
Earth's  fairest  scenes  are  all  his  own, 
He  is  a  monarch,  and  his  throne 
Is  built  amid  the  skies." 

Wilson. 

Our  youthful  hermit  was  quite  two  months  in  regaining  his 
strength,  though  by  the  end  of  one  he  was  able  to  look  about 
him,  and  turn  his  hand  to  many  little  necessary  jobs.  The  first 
thing  he  undertook  was  to  set  up  a  gate  that  would  keep  the 
animals  on  the  outside  of  the  crater.  The  pigs  had  not  only 
consumed  much  the  largest  portion  of  his  garden  truck,  but 
they  had  taken  a  fancy  to  break  up  the  crust  of  that  part  of  the 
crater  where  the  grass  was  showing  itself,  and  to  this  inroad 
upon  his  meadows,  Mark  had  no  disposition  to  submit.  He 
had  now  ascertained  that  the  surface  of  the  plain,  though  of  a 
rocky  appearance,  was  so  far  shelly  and  porous  that  the  seeds 
had  taken  very  generally ;  and  as  soon  as  their  roots  worked 
their  way  into  the  minute  crevices,  he  felt  certain  they  would, 
of  themselves,  convert  the  whole  surface  into  a  soil  sufficiently 
rich  to  nourish  the  plants  he  wished  to  produce  there.  Under 
such  circumstances  he  did  not  desire  the  assistance  of  the  hogs. 
As  yet,  however,  the  animals  had  done  good,  rather  than  harm, J 
to  the  garden,  by  stirring  the  soil  up  and  mixing  the  sea-weed 
and  decayed  fish  with  it ;  but  among  the  grass  they  threatened 
to  be  more  destructive  than  useful.  In  most  places  the  crust  of 
the  plain  was  just  thick  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  man, 
and  Mark,  no  geologist  by  the  way,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  existed  at  all  more  through  the  agency  of  the  salt  deposited 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  151 

in  ancient  floods,  than  from  any  other  cause.  According  to  the 
great  general  law  of  the  earth,  soil  should  have  been  formed 
from  rock,  and  not  rock  from  soil ;  though  there  certainly  are 
cases  in  which  the  earths  indurate,  as  well  as  become  disintegra- 
ted. As  we  are  not  professing  to  give  a  scientific  account  of 
these  matters,  we  shall  simply  state  the  facts,  leaving  better 
scholars  than  ourselves  to  account  for  their  existence. 

Mark  made  his  gate  out  of  the  fife-rail,  at  the  foot  of  the 
main-mast,  sawing  off  the  stanchions  for  that  purpose.  With  a 
little  alteration  it  answered  perfectly,  being  made  to  swing  from 
a  post  that  was  wedged  into  the  arch,  by  cutting  it  to  the 
proper  length.  As  this  was  the  first  attack  upon  the  Rancocus 
that  had  yet  been  made  by  axe  or  saw,  it  made  the  young  man 
melancholy ;  and  it  was  only  with  great  reluctance  that  he  could 
prevail  on  himself  to  begin  what  appeared  like  the  commence- 
ment of  breaking  up  the  good  craft.  It  was  done,  however, 
and  the  gate  was  hung ;  thereby  saving  the  rest  of  the  crop.  It 
was  high  time  ;  the  hogs  and  poultry,  to  say  nothing  of  Kitty, 
having  already  got  their  full  share.  The  inroads  of  the  first, 
however,  were  of  use  iu  more  ways  than  one,  since  they  taught 
our  young  cultivator  a  process  by  which  he  could  get  his  gar- 
den turned  up  at  a  cheap  rate.  They  also  suggested  to  him  an 
idea  that  he  subsequently  turned  to  good  account.  Having  dug 
his  roots  so  early,  it  occurred  to  Mark  that,  in  so  low  a  climate, 
and  with  such  a  store  of  manure,  he  might  raise  two  crops  in  a 
year  ;  those  which  came  in  the  cooler  months  varying  a  little 
in  their  properties  from  those  which  came  in  the  warmer.  On 
this  hint  he  endeavored  to  improve,  commencing  anew  beds 
that,  without  it,  would  probably  have  lain  fallow  some  months 
longer. 

In  this  way  did  our  young  man  employ  himself  until  he 
found  his  strength  perfectly  restored.  But  the  severe  illness  he 
had  gone  through,  with  the  sad  views  it  had  given  him  of  some 
future  day,  when  he  might  be  compelled  to  give  up  life  itself, 
without  a  friendly  hand  to  smooth  his  pillow  or  to  close  his  eyes, 
led  him  to  think  far  more  seriously  than  he  had  done  before,  on 


152  the    crater: 

the  subject  of  the  true  character  of  our  probationary  condition 
here  on  earth,  and  oh  the  unknown  and  awful  future  to  which 
it  leads  us.  Mark  had  been  carefully  educated  on  the  subject 
of  religion,  and  was  well  enough  disposed  to  enter  into  the  in- 
quiry in  a  suitable  spirit  of  humility  ;  but  the  grave  circumstan- 
ces in  which  he  was  now  placed,  contributed  largely  to  the  clear- 
ness of  his  views  of  the  necessity  of  preparing  for  the  final 
change.  Cut  off,  as  he  was,  from  all  communion  with  his  kind ; 
cast  on  what  was,  when  he  first  knew  it,  literally  a  barren  rock 
in  the  midst  of  the  vast  Pacific  Ocean,  Mark  found  himself,  by 
a  very  natural  operation  of  causes,  in  much  closer  communion 
with  his  Creator,  than  he  might  have  been  in  the  haunts  of  the. 
world.  On  the  reef,  there  was  little  to  divert  his  thoughts  from 
their  true  course  ;  and  the  very  ills  that  pressed  upon  him,  be- 
came so  many  guides  to  his  gratitude,  by  showing,  through  the 
contrasts,  the  many  blessings  which  had  been  left  him  by  the 
mercy  of  the  hand  that  had  struck  him.  The  nights  in  that 
climate  and  season  were  much  the  pleasantest  portions  of  the 
four-and-twenty  hours.  There  were  no  exhalations  from  de- 
cayed vegetable  substances  or  stagnant  pools,  to  create  miasma, 
but  the  air  was  as  pure  and  little  to  be  feared  under  a  placid 
moon  as  under  a  noon-day  sun.  The  first  hours  of  night,  there- 
fore, were  those  in  which  our  solitary  man  chose  to  take  most  of 
his  exercise,  previously  to  his  complete  restoration  to  strength  ; 
and  then  it  was  that  he  naturally  fell  into  an  obvious  and  health- 
ful communion  with  the  stars. 

So  far  as  the  human  mind  has  as  yet  been  able  to  penetrate 
the  mysteries  of  our  condition  here  on  earth,  with  the  double 
connection  between  the  past  and  the  future,  all  its  just  infer- 
ences tend  to  the  belief  in  an  existence  of  a  vast  and  beneficent 
design.  We  have  somewhere  heard,  or  read,  that  the  gipsies 
believe  that  men  are  the  fallen  angels,  toiling  their  way  back- 
ward on  the  fatal  path  along  which  they  formerly  rushed  to 
perdition.  This  may  not  be,  probably  is  not  true,  in  its  special 
detail;  but  that  men  are  placed  here  tt>  prepare  themselves  for 
a  future  and  higher^condition  of  existence,  is  not  only  agreeable 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  153 

to  our  consciousness,  but  is  in  harmony  with  revelation.  Among 
the  many  things  that  have  been  revealed  to  us,  where  so  many 
are  hid,  we  are  told  that  our  information  is  to  increase,  as  we 
draw  nearer  to  the  millennium,  until  "  The  whole  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea."  We  maybe  far  from  that  blessed  day;  probably  are ; 
but  he  has  lived  in  vain,  who  has  dwelt  his  half  century  in  the 
midst  of  the  civilization  of  this,  our  own  age,  and  does  not  see 
around  him  the  thousand  proofs  of  the  tendency  of  things  to 
the  fulfilment  of  the  decrees,  announced  to  us  ages  ago  by  the 
pens  of  holy  men.  Rome,  Greece,  Egypt,  and  all  that  we  know 
of  the  past,  which  comes  purely  of  man  and  his  passions  ;  em- 
pires, dynasties,  heresies,  and  novelties,  come  and  go  like  the 
changes  of  the  seasons  ;  while  the  only  thing  that  can  be  termed 
stable,  is  the  slow  but  sure  progress  of  prophecy.  The  agencies 
that  have  been  employed  to  bring  about  the  great  ends  foretold 
so  many  centuries  since,  are  so  very  natural,  that  we  often  lose 
sight  of  the  mighty  truth  in  its  seeming  simplicity.  But  the 
signs  of  the  times  are  not  to  be  mistaken.  Let  any  man  of 
fifty,  for  instance,  turn  his  eyes  toward  the  East,  the  land  of 
Judea,  and  compare  its  condition,  its  promises  of  to-day,  with 
those  that  existed  in  his  own  youth,  and  ask  himself  how  the 
change  has  been  produced.  That  which  the  Richards  and  Sts. 
Louis  of  the  middle  ages  could  not  effect  with  their  armed 
hosts,  is  about  to  happen  as  a  consequence  of  causes  so  obvious 
and  simple  that  they  are  actually  overlooked  by  the  multitude. 
The  Ottoman  power  and  Ottoman  prejudices  are  melting  away, 
as  it  might  be,  under  the  heat  of  divine  truth,  which  is  clearing 
for  itself  a  path  that  will  lead  to  the  fulfilment  of  its  own  pre- 
dictions. 

Among  the  agents  that  are  to  be  employed,  in  impressing 
the  human  race  with  a  sense  of  the  power  and  benevolence  of 
the  Deity,  we  think  the  science  of  astronomy,  with  its  mechan- 
ical auxiliaries,  is  to  act  its  full  share.  The  more  deeply  we 
penetrate  into  the  arcana  of  nature,  the  stronger  becomes  the 

proofs  of  design  ;  and  a  deity  thus  obviously,  tangibly  admitted, 
7* 


154  the    crater: 

the  more  profound  will  become  the  reverence  for  his  character 
and  power.  In  Mark  Woolston's  youth,  the  great  progress 
which  has  since  been  made  in  astronomy,  more  especially  in 
the  way  of  its  details  through  observations,  had  but  just  com- 
menced. A  vast  deal,  it  is  true,  had  been  accomplished  in  the 
way  of  pure  science,  though  but  little  that  came  home  to  the 
understandings  and  feelings  of  the  mass.  Mark's  education  had 
given  him  an  outline  of  what  Hcrschcl  and  his  contemporaries 
had  been  about,  however;  and  when  he  sat  on  the  Summit, 
communing  with  the  stars,  and  through  those  distant  and  still 
unknown  worlds,  with  their  Divine  First  Cause,  it  was  with  as 
much  familiarity  with  the  subject  as  usually  belongs  to  the 
liberally  educated,  without  carrying  a  particular  branch  of  learn- 
ing into  its  recesses.  He  had  increased  his  school  acquisitions 
a  little,  by  the  study  and  practice  of  navigation,  and  had 
several  works  that  he  was  fond  of  reading,  which  may  have 
made  him  a  somewhat  more  accurate  astronomer  than  those 
who  get  only  leading  ideas  on  the  subject.  Hours  at  a  time 
did  Mark  linger  on  the  Summit,  studying  the  stars  in  the  clear, 
transparent  atmosphere  of  the  tropics,  his  spirit  struggling  the 
while  to  get  into  closer  communion  with  that  dread  Being  which 
had  produced  all  these  mighty  results ;  among  which  the  exis- 
tence of  the  earth,  its  revolutions,  its  heats  and  colds,  its  misery 
and  happiness,  are  but  specks  in  the  incidents  of  a  universe. 
Previously  to  this  period,  he  had  looked  into  these  things  from 
curiosity  and  a  love  of  science ;  now,  they  impressed  him  with 
the  deepest  sense  of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Deity,  and 
caused  him  the  better  to  understand  his  own  position  in  the 
scale  of  created  beings. 

Not  only  did  our  young  hermit  study  the  stars  with  his  own 
eyes,  but  he  had  the  aid  of  instruments.  The  ship  had  two 
very  good  spy-glasses,  and  Mark  himself  was  the  owner  of  a 
very  neat  reflecting  telescope,  which  he  had  purchased  with  his 
wages,  and  had  brought  with  him  as  a  source  of  amusement  and 
instruction.  To  this  telescope  there  was  a  brass  stand,  and  he 
conveyed  it  to  the  tent  on  the  Summit,  where  it  was  kept  for 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  155 

use.  Aided  by  this  instrument,  Mark  could  see  the  satellites 
of  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  the  ring  of  the  latter,  the  belts  of  the 
former,  and  many  of  the  phenomena  of  the  moon.  Of  course, 
the  spherical  forms  of  all  the  nearer  planets  then  known  to 
astronomers,  were  plainly  to  be  seen  by  the  assistance  of  this 
instrument ;  and  there  is  no  one  familiar  fact  connected  with 
our  observations  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  that  strikes  the  human 
mind,  through  the  senses,  as  forcibly  as  this.  For  near  a  month, 
Mark  almost  passed  the  nights  gazing  at  the  stars,  and  reflect- 
ino-  on  their  origin  and  uses.  He  had  no  expectations  of  mak- 
ino-  discoveries,  or  of  even  adding  to  his  own  stores  of  knowl- 
edge:  but  his  thoughts  were  brought  nearer  to  his  Divine 
Creator  by  investigations  of  this  sort;  for  where  a  zealous 
mathematician  might  have  merely  exulted  in  the  confirmation 
of  some  theory  by  means  of  a  fact,  he  saw  the  hand  of  God 
instead  of  the  solution  of  a  problem.  Thrice  happy  would  it 
be  for  the  man  of  science,  could  he  ever  thus  hold  his  powers 
in  subjection  to  the  great  object  for  which  they  were  brought 
into  existence;  and,  instead  of  exulting  in,  and  quarrelling 
about  the  pride  of  human  reason,  be  brought  to  humble  himself 
and  his  utmost  learning,  at  the  feet  of  infinite  knowledge,  and 
power,  and  wisdom,  as  they  are  thus  to  be  traced  in  the  path 
of  the  Ancient  of  Days  ! 

By  the  time  his  strength  returned,  Mark  had  given  up, 
altogether,  the  hope  of  ever  seeing  Bctts  again.  It  was  just 
possible  that  the  poor  fellow  might  fall  in  with  a  ship,  or  find 
his  way  to  some  of  the  islands ;  but  if  he  did  so,  it  would  be 
the  result  of  chance  and  not  of  calculations..  The  pinnace  was 
well  provisioned,  had  plenty  of  water,  and,  tempests  excepted, 
was  quite  equal  to  navigating  the  Pacific ;  and  there  was  a  faint 
hope  that  Bob  might  continue  his  course  to  the  eastward,  with 
a  certainty  of  reaching  some  part  of  South  America  in  time. 
If  he  should  take  this  course,  and  succeed,  what  would  be  the 
consequence?  Who  would  put  sufficient  faith  in  the  storv  of  a 
simple  seaman,  like  Robert  Betts,  and  send  a  ship  to  look  for 
Mark  Woolston  ?     In  these  later  times,  the  government  would 


156  the    crater: 

doubtless  despatch  a  vessel  of  war  on  such  an  errand,  did  no 
other  means  of  rescuing  the  man  offer ;  but  at  the  close  of  the 
last  century,  government  did  not  exercise  that  much  of  power. 
It  scarcely  protected  its  seamen  from  the  English  press-gang 
and  the  Algerine  slave-driver ;  much  less  did  it  think  of  rescu- 
ing a  solitary  individual  from  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  Pacific. 
American  vessels  did  then  roam  over  that  distant  ocean,  but  it 
was  comparatively  in  small  numbers,  and  under  circumstances 
that  promised  but  little  to  the  hopes  of  the  hermit.  It  was  a 
subject  he  did  not  like  to  dwell  on,  and  he  kept  his  thoughts 
as  much  diverted  from  it  as  it  was  in  his  power  so  to  do. 

The  season  had  now  advanced  into  as  much  of  autumn  as 
could  be  found  within  the  tropics,  and  on  land  so  low.  Every 
thing  in  the  garden  had  ripened,  and  much  had  been  thrown 
out  to  the  pigs  and  poultry,  in  anticipation  of  its  decay.  Mark 
saw  that  it  was  time  to  recommence  his  beds,  selecting  such 
seed  as  would  best  support  the  winter  of  that  climate,  if  winter 
it  could  be  called.  In  looking  around  him,  he  made  a  regular 
survey  of  all  his  possessions,  inquiring  into  the  state  of  each 
plant  he  had  put  into  the  ground,  as  well  as  into  that  of  the 
ground  itself.     First,  then,  as  respects  the  plants. 

The  growth  of  the  oranges,  lemons,  cocoa-nuts,  limes,  figs, 
etc.,  placed  in  rows  beneath  the  cliffs,  had  been  prodigious. 
The  water  had  run  off  the  adjacent  rocks  and  kept  them  well 
moistened  most  of  the  season,  though  a  want  of  rain  was 
seldom  known  on  the  reef.  Of  the  two,  too  much,  rather  than 
too  little  water  fell ;  a  circumstance  that  was  of  great  service, 
however,  in  preserving  the  stock,  which  had  used  little  beside 
that  it  found  in  the  pools,  for  the  last  ten  months.  The 
shrubs,  or  little  trees,  were  quite  a  foot  high,  and  of  an  excel- 
lent color.  Mark  gave  each  of  them  a  dressing  with  the  hoe, 
and  manured  all  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  guano.  About 
half  he  transplanted  to  spots  more  favorable,  putting  the  cocoa- 
nuts,  in  particular,  as  near  the  sea  as  he  could  get  them. 

With  respect  to  the  other  plants,  it  was  found  that  each  had 
flourished  precisely  in  proportion  to  its  adaptation  to  the  cli- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  157 

mate.  The  products  of  some  were  increased  in  size,  while 
those  of  others  had  dwindled.  Mark  took  note  of  these  facts, 
determining  to  cultivate  those  most  which  succeeded  best.  The 
melons  of  both  sorts,  the  tomatoes,  the  egg-plants,  the  peppers, 
cucumbers,  onions,  beans,  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  etc.,  had 
all  flourished  ;  while  the  Irish  potato,  in  particular,  had  scarce 
produced  a  tuber  at  all. 

As  for  the  soil,  on  examination  Mark  found  it  had  been 
greatly  improved  by  the  manure,  tillage,  and  water  it  had  re- 
ceived. The  hogs  were  again  let  in  to  turn  it  over  with  their 
snouts,  and  this  they  did  most  effectually  in  the  course  of  two 
or  three  days.  By  this  time,  in  addition  to  the  three  grown 
porkers  our  young  man  possessed,  there  were  no  less  than  nine 
young  ones.  This  number  was  getting  to  be  formidable,  and 
he  saw  the  necessity  of  killing  off,  in  order  to  keep  them  with- 
in reasonable  limits.  One  of  the  fattest  and  best  he  converted 
into  pickled  pork,  not  from  any  want  of  that  article,  there  being 
still  enough  left  in  the  ship  to  last  him  several  years,  but  be- 
cause he  preferred  it  corned  to  that  which  had  been  in  salt  so 
long  a  time.  He  saw  the  mistake  he  had  made  in  allowing  the 
pigs  to  get  to  be  so  large,  since  the  meat  would  spoil  long  be- 
fore he  could  consume  even  the  smallest-sized  shoats.  For 
their  own  good,  however,  he  was  compelled  to  shoot  no  less 
than  five,  and  these  he  buried  entire,  in  deep  places  in  his  gar- 
den, having  heard  that  earth  which  had  imbibed  animal  sub- 
stances, in  this  way,  was  converted  into  excellent  manure. 

Mark  now  made  a  voyage  to  Loam  Island,  in  quest  of  a 
cargo,  using  the  raft,  and  towing  the  dingui.  It  was  on  this 
occasion  that  our  young  man  was  made  to  feel  how  much  he 
had  lost,  in  the  way  of  labor,  in  being  deprived  of  the  assist- 
ance of  Bob.  He  succeeded  in  loading  his  raft,  however,  and 
was  just  about  to  sail  for  home  again,  when  it  occurred  to  him 
that  possibly  the  seeds  and  roots  of  the  asparagus  he  had  put 
into  a  corner  of  the  deposit  might  have  come  to  something. 
Sure  enough,  on  going  to  the  spot,  Mark  found  that  the  seed 
had  taken  well,  and  hundreds  of  young  plants  were  growing 


158  the    crater: 

flourishingly,  while  plants  fit  to  eat  had  pushed  their  tops 
through  the  loam,  from  the  roots.  This  was  an  important  dis- 
covery, asparagus  being  a  vegetable  of  which  Mark  was  exceed- 
ingly fond,  and  one  easily  cultivated.  In  that  climate,  and  in 
a  soil  sufficiently  rich,  it  might  be  made  to  send  up  new  shoots 
the  entire  year ;  and  there  was  little  fear  of  scurvy  so  long  as  he 
could  obtain  plenty  of  this  plant  to  eat.  The  melons  and  other 
vegetables,  however,  had  removed  all  Mark's  dread  of  that  for- 
midable disease  ;  more  especially  as  he  had  now  egg*,  chickens, 
and  fresh  fish,  the  latter  in  quantities  that  were  almost  oppres- 
sive. In  a  word,  the  means  of  subsistence  now  gave  the  young 
man  no  concern  whatever.  When  he  first  found  himself  on  a 
barren  rock,  indeed,  the  idea  had  almost  struck  terror  into  his 
mind ;  but,  now  that  he  had  ascertained  that  the  crater  could 
be  cultivated,  and  promised,  like  most  other  extinct  volcanoes, 
unbounded  fertility,  he  could  no  longer  apprehend  a  disease 
which  is  commonly  owing  to  salted  provisions. 

When  Mark  found  his  health  completely  re-established,  he  sat 
down  and  drew  up  a  regular  plan  of  dividing  his  time  between 
work,  contemplation,  and  amusement.  Fortunately,  perhaps, 
for  one  who  lived  in  a  climate  where  vegetation  was  so  luxuriant 
when  it  could  be  produced  at  all,  work  was  pressed  into  his  ser- 
vice as  an  amusement.  Of  the  last,  there  was  certainly  very 
little,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word  ;  but  our  hermit 
was  not  without  it  altogether.  He  studied  the  habits  of  the 
sea-birds  that  congregated  in  thousands  around  so  many  of  the 
rocks  of  the  reef,  though  so  few  scarce  ever  ventured  on  the 
crater  island.  He  made  voyages  to  and  fro,  usually  connect- 
ing business  with  pleasure.  Taking  favorable  times  for  such 
purposes,  he  floated  several  cargoes  of  loam  to  the  reef,  as  well 
as  two  enormous  rafts  of  sea-weed.  Mark  was  quite  a  month 
in  getting  these  materials  into  his  compost  heap,  which  he  in- 
tended should  lie  in  a  pile  during  the  winter,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  ready  for  spading  in  the  spring.  We  use  these  terms 
by  way  of  distinguishing  the  seasons,  though  of  winter,  strictly 
speaking,  there  was  none.     Of  the  two,  the  grass  grew  better 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  159 

at  mid-winter  then  at  mid-summer,  the  absence  of  the  burning 
heat  of  the  last  being  favorable  to  its  growth.  As  the  season 
advanced,  Mark  saw  his  grass  very  sensibly  increase,  not  only 
in  surface,  but  in  thickness.  There  were  now  spots  of  some 
size,  where  a  turf  was  forming,  nature  performing  all  her 
tasks  in  that  genial  climate  in  about  a  fourth  of  the  time  it 
would  take  to  effect  the  same  object  in  the  temperate  zone.  On 
examining  these  places,  Mark  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
roots  of  his  grasses  acted  as  cultivators,  by  working  their  way 
into  the  almost  insensible  crevices  of  the  crust,  letting  in  air  and 
water  to  places  whence  they  had  hitherto  been  excluded.  This 
seemed,  in  particular,  to  be  the  case  with  the  grass  that  grew 
within  the  crater,  which  had  increased  so  much  in  the  course 
of  what  may  be  termed  the  winter,  that  it  was  really  fast  con- 
verting a  plain  of  a  light  drab  color,  that  was  often  painful  to 
the  eyes,  into  a  plot  of  as  lovely  verdure  as  ever  adorned  the 
meadows  of  a  Swiss  cottage.  It  became  desirable  to  keep  this 
grass  down,  and  Kitty  being  unable  to  crop  a  meadow  of  so 
many  acres,  Mark  was  compelled  to  admit  his  pigs  and  poultry 
again.  This  he  did  at  stated  times  only,  however ;  or  when  he 
was  at  work  himself  in  the  garden,  and  could  prevent  their  dep- 
rivations on  his  beds.  The  rooting  gave  him  the  most  trouble ; 
but  this  he  contrived,  in  a  great  measure,  to  prevent,  by  admit- 
ting his  hogs  only  when  they  were  eager  for  grass,  and  turning 
them  out  as  soon  as  they  began  to  generalize,  like  an  epicure 
picking  his  nuts  after  dinner.. 

It  was  somewhere  near  mid-winter,  by  Mark's  calculations, 
when  the  young  man  commenced  a  new  task  that  was  of  great 
importance  to  his  comfort,  and  which  might  affect  his  future 
life.  He  had  long  determined  to  lay  down  a  boat,  one  of  suffi- 
cient size  to  explore  the  whole  reef  in,  if  not  large  enough  to 
carry  him  out  to  sea.  The  dingui  was  altogether  too  small  for 
labor;  though  exceedingly  useful  in  its  way,  and  capable  of 
being  managed  even  in  pretty  rough  water  by  a  skilful  hand,  it 
wanted  both  weight  and  room.  It  was  difficult  to  float  in  even 
a  raft  of  sea-weed  with  so  light  a  boat;  and,  as  for  towing  the 


160  the    crater: 

raft,  it  was  next  to  impossible.  But  the  raft  was  unwieldy, 
and,  when  loaded  down,  besides  carrying  very  little  for  its  great 
weight,  it  was  very  much  at  the  mercy  of  the  currents  and 
waves.  Then  the  construction  of  a  boat  was  having  an  im- 
portant purpose  in  view,  and,  in  that  sense,  was  a  desirable 
undertaking. 

Mark  had  learned  so  much  in  putting  the  pinnace  together, 
that  he  believed  himself  equal  to  this  new  undertaking.  Mate- 
rials enough  remained  in  the  ship  to  make  half  a  dozen  boats, 
and,  in  tumbling  over  the  lumber,  he  had  found  a  quantity  of 
stuff  that  had  evidently  been  taken  in  with  a  view  to  repair 
boats,  if  not  absolutely  to  construct  them.  A  ship's  hold  is  such 
an  omnium  gatherum,  stowage  being  necessarily  so  close,  that  it 
usually  requires  time  for  one  who  does  not  know  where  to  put 
his  band  on  every  thing,  to  ascertain  how  much  or  how  little  is 
to  be  found  in  it.  Such  was  the  fact  with  Mark,  whose  court- 
ship and  marriage  had  made  a  considerable  inroad  on  his  duties 
as  a  mate.  As  he  overhauled  the  hold,  he  daily  found  fresh 
reasons  for  believing  that  Friend  Abraham  White  had  mule 
provisions,  of  one  sort  and  another,  of  which  he  was  profoundly 
ignorant,  but  which,  as  the  voyage  had  terminated,  proved  to 
be  of  the  greatest  utility.  Thus  it  was,  that  just  as  he  was  about 
to  commence  getting  out  these  great  requisites  from  new  planks, 
he  came  across  a  stem,  stern-frame,  and  keel  of  a  boat,  that  was 
intended  to  be  eighteen  feet  long.  Of  course,  our  young  man 
profited  by  this  discovery,  getting  the  materials  of  all  sorts,  in- 
cluding these,  round  to  the  ship-yard  by  means  of  the  raft. 

For  the  next  two  months,  or  until  he  had  reason  to  believe 
spring  had  fairly  set  in,  Mark  toiled  faithfully  at  his  boat. 
Portions  of  his  work  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble ;  some 
J  it  on  account  of  ignorance  of  the  craft,  and  some  on  account 
of  his  being  alone.  Getting  the  awning  up  anew  cost  poor 
Mark  the  toil  of  several  days,  and  this  because  his  single 
strength  was  not  sufficient  to  hoist  the  corners  of  that  heavy 
course,  even  wThen  aided  by  watch-tackles.  He  was  compelled 
to  rig  a  crab,  with  which  he  effected  his  purpose,  reserving  the 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  161 

machine  to  aid  him  on  other  occasions.  Then  the  model  of 
the  boat  cost  him  a  great  deal  of  time  and  labor.  Mark  knew 
a  good  bottom  when  he  saw  it,  bat  that  was  a  very  different 
thing  from  knowing  how  to  make  one.  Of  the  rules  of 
draughting  he  was  altogether  ignorant,  aud  his  eye  was  his 
only  guide.  He  adopted  a  plan  that  was  sufficiently  inge- 
nious, though  it  would  never  do  to  build  a  navy  on  the  same 
principle. 

Having  a  great  plenty  of  deal,  Mark  got  out  in  the  rough 
about  twice  as  many  timbers  for  one  side  of  his  boat  as  would 
be  required,  in  this  thin  stuff,  when  he  set  them  up  in  their 
places.  Aided  by  this  beginning,  the  young  man  began  to  dub 
and  cut  away,  until  he  got  each  piece  into  something  very  near 
the  shape  his  eye  told  him  it  ought  to  be.  Even  after  he  had 
got  as  far  as  this,  our  boat-builder  passed  a  week  in  shaving, 
and  planing,  and  squinting,  and  in  otherwise  reducing  his  lines 
to  fair  proportions.  Satisfied,  at  length,  with  the  bottom  he 
had  thus  fashioned,  Mark  took  out  just  one-half  of  his  pieces, 
leaving  the  other  half  standing.  After  these  moulds  did  he 
saw  and  cut  his  boat's  timbers,  making,  in  each  instance,  dupli- 
cates. When  the  ribs  and  floors  of  his  craft  were  ready,  he 
set  them  up  in  the  vacancies,  and  secured  them,  after  making 
an  accurate  fit  with  the  pieces  left  standing.  On  knocking 
away  the  deal  portions  of  his  work,  Mark  had  the  frame  of  his 
boat  complete.  This  was  much  the  most  troublesome  part  of 
the  whole  job  ;  nor  was  it  finished,  when  the  young  man  was 
obliged,  by  the  progress  of  the  seasons,  to  quit  the  ship-yard 
for  the  garden. 

Mark  had  adopted  a  system  of  diet  and  a  care  of  his  person, 
that  kept  him  in  perfect  health,  illness  being  the  evil  that  he 
most  dreaded.  His  food  was  more  than  half  vegetable,  several 
plants' having  come  forward  even  in  the  winter  ;  and  the  aspar- 
agus, in  particular,  yielding  at  a  rate  that  would  have  made  the 
fortune  of  a  London  gardener.  The  size  of  the  plants  he  cut 
was  really  astounding,  a  dozen  stems  actually  making  a  meal 
The  hens  laid  all  winter,  and  eggs  were  never  wanting.     The 


162  the    crater: 

corned  pork  gave  substance,  as  well  as  a  relish,  to  all  the 
dishes  the  young  man  cooked  ;  and  the  tea,  sugar,  and  coffee 
promising  to  hold  out  years  longer,  the  table  still  gave  him 
little  concern.  Once  in  a  month,  or  so,  he  treated  himself  to  a 
bean-soup,  or  a  pea-soup,  using  the  stores  of  the  Rancocus  for 
that  purpose,  foreseeing  that  the  salted  meats  would  spoil  after 
a  time,  and  the  dried  vegetables  get  to  be  worthless,  by  means 
of  insects  and  worms.  By  this  time,  however,  there  were 
fresh  crops  of  both  those  vegetables,  which  grew  better  in  the 
winter  than  they  could  in  the  summer,  in  that  hot  climate. 
Fish,  too,  were  used  as  a  change,  whenever  the  young  man  had 
an  inclination  for  that  sort  of  food,  which  was  as  often  as  three 
or  four  times  a  week  ;  the  little  pan-fish  already  mentioned  be- 
ing of  a  sort  of  which  one  would  scarcely  ever  tire. 

It  being  a  matter  of  some  moment  to  save  unnecessary  labor, 
Mark  seldom  cooked  more  than  once  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and  then  barely  enough  to  last  for  that  day.  In  consequence 
of  this  rule,  he  soon  learned  how  little  was  really  necessary  for 
the  wants  of  one  person,  it  being  his  opinion  that  a  quarter  of 
an  acre  of  such  soil  as  tlrat  which  now  composed  his  garden, 
would  more  than  furnish  all  the  vegetables  he  could  consume. 
The  soil,  it  is  true,  was  of  a  very  superior  quality.  Although 
it  had  lain  so  long  unproductive  and  seemingly  barren,  now 
that  it  had  been  stirred,  and  air  and  water  were  admitted,  and 
guano,  and  sea-weed,  and  loam,  and  dead  fish  had  been  ap- 
plied, and  all  in  quantities  that  would  have  been  deemed  very 
ample  in  the  best- wrought  gardens  of  Christendom,  the  acre  he 
had  under  tillage  might  be  said  to  have  been  brought  to  the 
highest  stage  of  fertility.  It  wanted  a  little  in  consistency, 
perhaps  ;  but  the  compost  heap  was  very  large,  containing 
enough  of  all  the  materials  *  just  mentioned  to  give  the  garden 
another  good  dressing.  As  for  the  grass,  Mark  was  convinced 
the  guano  was  all-sufficient  for  that,  and  this  he  took  care  to 
apply  as  often  as  once  in  two  or  three  months. 

Our  young  man  was  never  tired,  indeed,  with  feasting  his 
eyes  with  the  manner  in  which  the  grass  had  spread  over  the 


OR,     VULCAN     S      PEAK.  163 

mount.  It  is  true,  that  he  had  scattered  seed,  at  odd  and  fa- 
vorable moments,  over  most  of  it,  by  this  time ;  and  he  was 
persuaded  the  roots  of  those  first  sown  would  have  extended 
themselves,  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  over  the  whole  Sum- 
mit. Nor  were  these  grasses  thin  and  sickly,  threatening  as 
early  an  extinction  as  they  had  been  quick  in  coming  to  matu- 
rity. On  the  contrary,  after  breaking  what  might  be  called  the 
crust  of  the  rock  with  their  vigorous  though  nearly  invisible 
roots,  they  made  a  bed  for  themselves,  on  which  they  promised 
to  repose  for  ages.  The  great  frequency  of  the  rains  favored 
their  growth,  and  Mark  was  of  opinion,  after  the  experience  of 
one  summer,  that  his  little  mountain  might  be  green  the  year 
round. 

We  have  called  the  mount  of  the  crater  little,  but  the  term 
ought  not  to  be  used  in  reference  to  such  a  hill,  when  the  extent 
of  the  island  itself  was  considered.  By  actual  measurement, 
Mark  had  ascertained  that  there  was  one  knoll  on  the  Summit, 
v  ch  was  just  seventy-two  feet  above  the  level  of  the  rock, 
xhe  average  height,  however,  might  be  given  as  somewhat  less 
than  fifty.  Of  surface,  the  rocky  barrier  of  the  crater  had  al- 
most as  much  as  the  plain  within  it,  though  it  was  so  broken 
and  uneven  as  not  to  appear  near  as  large.  Kitty  had  long 
since  determined  that  the  hill  was  more  than  large  enough  for 
all  her  wants ;  and  glad  enough  did  she  seem  when  Mark  suc- 
ceeded, after  a  great  deal  of  difficulty,  in  driving  the  hogs  up  a 
flight  of  steps  he  had  made  within  the  crater,  to  help  her  crop 
the  herbage.  As  for  the  rooting  of  the  last,  so  long  as  they 
were  on  the  Summit,  it  was  so  much  the  better;  since,  in  that 
climate,  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  kill  grass  that  was  once 
fairly  in  growth,  and  the  more  the  crust  of  the  ashes  was  broken, 
the  more  rapid  and  abundant  would  be  the  vegetation. 

Mark  had,  of  course,  abandoned  the  idea  of  continuing  to 
cultivate  his  melons,  or  any  other  vegetables,  on  the  Summit, 
or  he  never  would  have  driven  his  hogs  there.  He  was  unwill- 
ing, notwithstanding,  to  lose  the  benefit  of  the  deposits  of  soil 
and  manure  which  he  and  Bob  had  made  there  with  so  much 


164  the    c  rater: 

labor  to  themselves.  After  reflecting  what  he  could  do  with 
them,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would  make  small  en- 
closures around  some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  the  places,  and  trans- 
plant some  of  the  fig-trees,  orange-trees,  limes,  lemons,  etc., 
which  still  stood  rather  too  thick  within  the  crater  to  ripen 
their  fruits  to  advantage.  In  order  to  make  these  little  enclo- 
sures, Mark  merely  drove  into  the  earth  short  posts,  passing 
around  them  old  rope,  of  which  there  was  a  superabundance  on 
board  the  ship.  This  arrangement  suggested  the  idea  of  fenc- 
ing in  the  garden  by  the  same  means,  in  order  to  admit  the  pigs 
to  eat  the  grass,  when  he  was  not  watching  them.  By  the  time 
these  dispositions  were  made,  it  was  necessary  to  begin  again  to 
put  in  the  seeds. 

On  this  occasion  Mark  determined  to  have  a  succession  of 
crops,  and  not  to  bring  on  every  thing  at  once,  as  he  had  done 
the  first  year  of  his  tillage.  Accordingly,  he  would  manure  and 
break  up  a  bed,  and  plant  or  sow  it,  waiting  a  few  days  before 
he  began  another.  Experience  had  told  him  that  there  n;h 
never  an  end  to  vegetation  in  that  climate,  and  he  saw  no  use 
in  pushing  his  labors  faster  than  he  might  require  their  fruits. 
It  was  true,  certain  plants  did  better  if  permitted  to  come  to 
maturity  in  particular  periods,  but  the  season  was  so  long  as 
very  well  to  allow  of  the  arrangement  just  mentioned.  As  this 
distribution  of  his  time  gave  the  young  man  a  good  deal  of 
leisure,  he  employed  it  in  the  ship-yard.  Thus  the  boat  and 
the  garden  were  made  to  advance  together,  and  when  the  last 
was  sown  and  planted,  the  first  was  planked.  When  the  last 
bed  was  got  in,  moreover,  those  first  set  in  order  were  already 
giving  forth  their  increase.  Mark  had  abundance  of  delicious 
salad,  joung  onions,  radishes  that  seemed  to  grow  like  mush- 
rooms, young  peas,  beans,  etc.,  in  quantities  that  enabled  him 
to  turn  the  hogs  out  on  the  reef,  and  keep  them  well  on  the 
refuse  of  his  garden,  assisted  a  little  by  what  was  always  to  be 
picked  up  on  the  rocks. 

By  this  time  Mark  had  settled  on  a  system  which  he  thought 
to  pursue.     There  was  no  use  in  his  raising  more  pigs  than  he 


OR,      VULCAN   S      PEAK. 


165 


could  use.     Taking  care  to  preserve  the  breed,  therefore,  ho 
killed  off  the  pigs,  of  which  he  had  fresh  litters,  from  time  to 
time  ;  and  when  he  found  the  old  hogs  getting  to  be  trouble- 
some, as  swine  will  become  with  years,  he  just  shot  them,  and 
buried  their  bodies  in  bis  compost  heap,  or  in  his  garden,  where 
one  common-sized  hog  would  render  highly  fertile  several  yards 
square  of  earth,  or  ashes.  This  practice  he  continued  ever  after, 
extending  it  to  his  fowls  and  ducks,  the  latter  of  which  pro- 
duced a  great  many  eggs.    By  rigidly  observing  this  rule,  Mark 
avoided  an  evil  which  is  very  common  even  in  inhabited  coun- 
tries— that  of  keeping  more  stock  than  is  good  for  their  owner. 
Six  or  eight  hens  laid   more  eggs  than  he  could   consume,  and 
there  was  always  a  sufficient  supply  of  chickens  for  his  wants.   In 
short,   our  hermit  had  every  thing  he    actually  required,   and 
most  things  that  could  contribute  to  his  living  in  great  abun- 
dance.    The  necessity  of  cooking  for  himself,  and  the  want  of 
pure,  cold  spring  water,  were  the  two  greatest  physical  hard- 
ships he  endured.     There  were  moments,  indeed,  when  Mark 
would  have  gladly  yielded  one-half  of  the  advantages  he  actually 
possessed,  to  have  a   good  spring  of  living  water.     Then  he 
quelled  the  repinings  of  his  spirit  at  this  privation,  by  endeav- 
oring to   recall  how  many  blessings  were  left  at  his  command, 
compared  to  the  wants  and  sufferings  of  many  another  ship- 
wrecked mariner  of  whom  he  had  read  or  heard. 

The  spring  passed  as  pleasantly  as  thoughts  of  home  and 
Bridget  would  allow,  and  his  beds  and  plantations  flourished  to 
a  degree  that  surprised  him.  As  for  the  grass,  as  soon  as  it 
once  got  root,  it  became  a  most  beneficial  assistant  to  his  plans 
of  husbandry.  Nor  was  it  grass  alone  that  rewarded  Mark's 
labors  and  forethought  in  his  meadows  and  pastures.  Various^ 
flowers  appeared  in  the  herbage  ;  and  he  was  delighted  at  find- 
ing a  little  patch  of  the  common  wild  strawberry,  the  seed  of 
which  had  doubtless  got  mixed  with  those  of  the  grasses.  In- 
stead of  indulging  his  palate  with  a  taste  of  this  delicious  and 
most  salubrious  fruit,  Mark  carefully  collected  it  all,  made  a  bed 
in  his  garden,  and  included  the  cultivation  of  this  among  his 


186 


the    crater: 


other  plants.  He  would  not  disturb  a  single  root  of  the  twenty 
or  thirty  different  shoots  that  he  found,  all  being  together,  and 
coming  from  the  same  cast  of  his  hand  while  sowing,  lest  it 
might  die  ;  but  with  the  seed  of  the  fruit,  he  was  less  chary. 
One  thing  struck  Mark  as  singular.  Thus  far  his  garden  wns 
absolutely  free  from  weeds  of  every  sort.  The  seed  that  he 
put  into  the.  ground  came  up,  and  nothing  else.  This  greatly 
simplified  his  toil,  though  he  had  no  doubt  that,  in  the  course 
of  time,  he  should  meet  with  intruders  in  his  beds.  He  could 
only  account  for  this  circumstance  by  the  facts,  that  the  ashes 
of  the  volcano  contained  of  themselves  no  combination  of  the 
elements  necessary  to  produce  plants,  and  that  the  manures  he 
used,  in  their  nature,  were  free  from  weeds. 


7 
s 


O  R. 


loan's    peak.  167 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"The  globe  around  earth's  hollow  surface  shakes, 
And  is  the  ceiling  of  her  sleeping  sons: 
O'er  devastation  we  blind  revels  keep; 
While  buried  towns  support  the  dancer's  heels." 

Totruo. 

It  was  again  mid-summer  ere  Mark  "Woolston  had  his  boat 
ready  for  launching.  He  had  taken  things  leisurely,  and  com- 
pleted his  work  in  all  its  parts,  before  he  thought  of  putting  the 
craft  into  the  water.  Afraid  of  worms,  he  used  some  of  the 
old  copper  on  this  boat,  too  ;  and  he  painted  her,  inside  and 
out,  not  only  with  fidelity,  but  with. taste.  Although  there  was 
no  one  but  Kitty  to  talk  to,  he  did  not  forget  to  paint  the  name 
which  he  had  given  to  his  new  vessel,  in  her  stern-sheets,  where 
he  could  always  see  it.  She  was  called  the  "Bridget  Yardley ;" 
and,  notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  circumstances  in  which  she 
had  been  put  together,  Mark  thought  she  did  no  discredit  to  her 
beautiful  namesake,  when  completed.  When  he  had  every 
thing  finished,  even  to  mast  and  sails,  of  the  last  of  which  he 
fitted  her  with  main-sail  and  jib,  the  young  man  set  about  his 
preparations  for  getting  his  vessel  afloat. 

There  was  no  process  by  which  one  man  could  move  a  boat 
of  the  size  of  the  Bridget,  while  out  of  its  proper  element,  but 
to  launch  it  by  means  of  regular  ways.  With  a  view  to  this  con- 
tingency, the  keel  had  been  laid  between  the  ways  of  the  Nesh- 
amony,  which  were  now  all  ready  to  be  used.  Of  course  it  was 
no  great  job  to  make  a  cradle  for  a  boat,  and  our  boat-builder 
had  "wedged  up,"  and  got  the  keel  of  his  craft  off  the 
"blocks,"  within  eight-and-forty  hours  after  he  had  begun  upon 
that  part  of  his  task.     It  only  remained  to  knock  away  the 


168  the    cratbh: 

spur-shores,  and  start  the  boat.  Until  that  instant,  Mark  had 
pursued  his  work  on  the  Bridget  as  mechanically  and  steadily 
as  if  hired  by  the  day.  When,  however,  he  perceived  that  he 
was  so  near  his  goal,  a  flood  of  sensations  came  over  the  young 
man,  and  his  limbs  trembled  to  a  degree  that  compelled  him 
to  be  seated.  Who  could  tell  the  consequences  to  which  that 
boat  might  lead  1  Who  knew  but  the  "Bridget"  might  prove 
the  means  of  carrying  him  to  his  own  Bridget,  and  restoring 
him  to  civilized  life  ?  At  that  instant,  it  appeared  to  Mark  as 
if  his  existence  depended  on  the  launching  of  his  boat,  and 
he  was  fearful  some  unforeseen  accident  might  prevent  it.  He 
was  obliged  to  wait  several  minutes  in  order  to  recover  his  self- 
possession. 

At  length  Mark  succeeded  in  subduing  this  feeling,  and  he 
resumed  his  work  with  most  of  his  former  self-command. 
Every  tiling  being  ready,  he  knocked  away  the  spur-shores,  and, 
finding  the  boat  did  not  start,  he  gave  it  a  blow  with  a  maul. 
This  set  the  mass  in  motion,  and  the  little  craft  slid  down  the 
ways  without  any  interruption,  until  it  became  water-born,  when 
it  shot  out  from  the  reef  like  a  duck.  Mark  was  delighted  with 
his  new  vessel,  now  that  it  was  fairly  afloat,  and  saw  that  it 
sat  on  an  even  keel,  according  to  his  best  hopes.  Of  course  he 
had  not  neglected  to  secure  it  with  a  line,  by  which  he  hauled 
it  in  toward  the  rock,  securing  it  in  a  natural  basin  which  was 
just  large  enough  for  such  a  purpose.  So  great,  indeed,  were 
his  apprehensions  of  losing  his  boat,  which  now  seemed  so  pre- 
cious to  him,  that  he  had  worked  some  ring-bolts  out  of  the 
ship  and  let  them  into  the  rock,  where  he  had  secured  them  by 
means  of  melted  lead,  in  order  to  make  fast  to. 

The  Bridget  was  not  more  than  a  fourth  of  the  size  of  the 
Neshamony,  though  rather  more  than  half  as  long.  Neverthe- 
less, she  was  a  good  boat ;  and  Mark,  knowing  that  he  must  de- 
pend on  sails-  principally  to  move  her,  had  built  a  short  deck 
forward  to  prevent  the  seas  from  breaking  aboard  her,  as  well 
as  to  give  him  a  place  in  which  he  might  stow  away  various  ar- 
ticles, under  cover  from  the  rain.     Her  ballast  was  breakers, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  169 

filled  with  fresh  water,  of  which  there  still  remained  several  in 
the  ship.  All  these,  as  well  as  her  masts,  sails,  oars,  etc.,  were 
in  her  when  she  was  launched  ;  and  that  important  event  hav- 
ing taken  place  early  in  the  morning,  Mark  could  not  restrain 
his  impatience  for  a  cruise,  but  determined  to  go  out  on  the 
reef  at  once,  further  than  he  had  ever  yet  ventured  in  the 
dingui,  in  order  to  explore  the  seas  around  him.  Accordingly, 
he  put  some  food  on  board,  loosened  his  fasts,  and  made  sail. 

The  instant  the  boat  *moved  ahead,  and  began  to  obey  her 
helm,  Mark  felt  as  if  he  had  found  a  new  companion.  Hitherto 
Kitty  had,  in  a  measure,  filled  this  place  ;  but  a  boat  had  been 
the  young  man's  delight  on  the  Delaware,  in  his  boyhood,  and 
he  had  not  tacked  his  present  craft  more  than  two  or  three 
times,  before  he  caught  himself  talking  to  it,  and  commending 
it,  as  he  would  a  human  being.  As  the  wind  usually  blew  in 
the  same  direction,  and  generally  a  good  stiff  breeze,  Mark 
beat  up  between  the  reef  and  Guano  Island,  working  round 
the  weather  end  of  the  former,  until  he  came  out  at  the  anchor- 
age of  the  Rancocus.  After  beating  about  in  that  basin  a  little 
while,  as  if  merely  to  show  off  the  Bridget  to  the  ship,  Mark 
put  the  former  close  by  the  wind,  and  stood  off  in  the  channel 
by  which  he  and  Bob  had  brought  the  latter  into  her  present 
berth. 

It  was  easy  enough  to  avoid  all  such  breakers  as  would  be 
dangerous  to  a  boat,  by  simply  keeping  out  of  white  water ; 
but  the  Bridget  could  pass  over  most  of  the  reefs  with  impunity, 
on  account  of  the  depth  of  the  sea  on  them.  Mark  beat  up,  on 
short  tacks,  therefore,  until  he  found  the  two  buoys  between 
which  he  had  brought  the  ship,  and  passing  to  windward  of 
them,  he  stood  off  in  the  direction  where  he  expected  to  find 
the  reef  over  which  the  Rancocus.  had  beaten.  He  was  not 
long  in  making  this  discovery.  There  still  floated  the  buoy  of 
the  bower,  watching  as  faithfully  as  the  seaman  on  his  look- 
out! Mark  ran  the  boat  up  to  this  well-tried  sentinel,  and 
caught  the  lanyard,  holding  on  by  it,  after  lowering  his  sails. 

The  boat  was  now  moored  by  the  buoy-rope  of  the  ship's 


170  thecrater: 

anchor,  and  it  occurred  to  our  young  man  that  a  certain  use 
might  be  made  of  this  melancholy  memorial  of  the  calamity 
that  had  befallen  the  Kancocus.  The  anchor  lay  quite  near  a 
reef — on  it,  indeed,  in  one  sense  ;  and  it  was  in  such  places  that 
fish  most  abounded.  Fishing-tackle  was  in  the  boat,  and  Mark 
let  down  a  line.  His  success  was  prodigious.  The  fish  were 
hauled  in  almost  as  fast  as  he  could  bait  and  lower  his  hook, 
and  what  was  more,  they  proved  to  be  larger  and  finer  than 
those  taken  at  the  old  fishing-grounds.  By  the  experience  of 
the  half  hour  he  passed  at  the  spot,  Mark  felt  certain  that  he 
could  fill  his  boat  there  in  a  day's  fishing.  After  hauling  in 
some  twenty  or  thirty,  however,  he  cast  off  from  the  Ian  van  1, 
hoisted  his  sails,  and  crossed  the  reef,  still  working -to  wind- 
ward. 

It  was  Mark's  wish  to  learn  something  of  the  nature  and  ex- 
tent of  the  shoals  in  this  direction.  With  this  object  in  view, 
he  continued  beating  up,  sometimes  passing  boldly  through 
shallow  water,  at  others  going  about  to  avoid  that  which  he 
thouodit  might  be  dangerous,  until  he  believed  himself  to  be 
about  ten  miles  to  windward  of  the  island.  The  ship's  masts 
were  his  beacon,  for  the  crater  had  sunk  below  the  horizon,  or 
if  visible  at  all,  it  was  only  at  intervals,  as  the  boat  was  lifted  on  a 
swell,  when  it  appeared  a  low  hummock,  nearly  awash.  It  was 
with  difficulty  that  the  naked  spars  could  be  seen  at  that  dis- 
tance ;  nor  could  they  be,  except  at  moments,  and  that  because 
the  compass  told  the  young  man  exactly  where  to  look  for 
them. 

As  for  the  appearance  of  the  reefs,  no  naked  rock  was  any- 
where to  be  seen,  in  this  direction,  though  there  were  abundant 
evidences  of  the  existence  of  shoals.  As  well  as  he  could  judge, 
Mark  was  of  opinion  that  these  shoals  extended  at  least  twenty 
miles  in  this  direction,  he  having  turned  up  fully  five  leagues 
without  getting  clear  of  them.  At  that  distance  from  his  soli- 
tarv  home,  and  out  of  sight  of  every  thing  like  land,  did  the 
young  man  eat  his  frugal,  but  good  and  nourishing  dinner, 
with   his  jib-sheet  to  windward   and   the  boat  hove-to.     The 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  1<1 

freshness  of  the  breeze  had  induced  him  to  reef,  and  under  that 
short  sail,  he  found  the  Bridget  every  thing  he  could  wish.  It 
was  now  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  and  Mark  thought 
it  prudent  to  turn  out  his  reef,  and  run  down  for  the  crater.  In 
half  an  hour  he  caught  a  sight  of  the  spars  of  the  ship  ;  and 
ten  minutes  later,  the  Summit  appeared  above  the  horizon. 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  our  young  sailor  to  stay  out  all 
night,  had  the  weather  been  promising.  His  wish  was  to  ascer- 
tain how  he  might  manage  the  boat,  single-handed,  while  he 
slept,  and  also  to  learn  the  extent  of  the  shoals.  As  the  ex- 
traordinary fertility  of  the  crater  superseded  the  necessity  of 
his  laboring  much  to  keep  himself  supplied  with  food,  he  had 
formed  a  plan  of  cruising  off  the  shoals,  for  days  at  a  time,  in 
the  hope  of  falling  in  with  something  that  was  passing,  and 
which  might  carry  him  back  to  the  haunts  of  men.  No  vessel 
would  or  could  come  in  sight  of  the  crater,  so  long  as  the 
existence  of  the  reefs  was  known  ;  but  the  course  steered  by' 
the  Rancocus  was  a  proof  that  ships  did  occasionally  pass  in 
that  quarter  of  the  Pacific.  Mark  had  indulged  in  no  visionary 
hopes  on  this  subject,  for  he  knew  he  might  keep  in  the  offing 
a  twelvemonth  and  see  nothing;  but  an  additional  twenty-four 
hours  might  realize  all  his  hopes. 

The  weather,  however,  on  this  his  first  experiment,  did  not 
encourage  him  to  remain  out  the  whole  night.  On  the  contra- 
ry, by  the  time  the  crater  was  in  sight,  Mark  thought  he  had 
not  seen  a  more  portentous-looking  sky  since  he  had  been  on 
the  reef.  There  was  a  fiery  redness  in  the  atmosphere  that 
alarmed  him,  and  he  would  have  rejoiced  to  be  at  home,  in 
order  to  secure  his  stock  within  the  crater.  From  the  appear- 
ances, he  anticipated  another  tempest  with  its  flood.  It  is  true,  it 
was  not  the  season  when  the  last  occurred,  but  the  climate  might 
admit  of  these  changes.  The  difference  between  summer  and 
winter  was  very  trifling  on  that  reef,  and  a  hurricane,  or  a  gale, 
was  as  likely  t<>  occur  in  the  one  as  in  the  other. 

Just  as  the  Bridget  was  passing  the  two  buoys  by  /'Inch  the 
ship-channel  had   been  marked,  her  sail  flapped.     Una  was  a 


172  the    crater: 

bad  omen,  for  it  "betokened  a  shift  of  wind,  which  rarely  hap- 
pened, unless  it  might  be  from  six  months  to  six  months,  without 
being  the  precursor  of  some  sort  of  a  storm.  Mark  was  still 
two  miles  from  the  reef,  and  the  little  wind  there  was  soon 
came  ahead.  Luckily,  it  was  smooth  water,  and  very  little  air 
sufficed  to  force  that  light  craft  ahead,  while  there  was  usually  a 
cuiTent  setting  from  that  point  toward  the  crater.  The  birds, 
moreover,  seemed  uneasy,  the  air  being  filled  with  them,  thou- 
sands flying  over  the  boat,  around  which  they  wheeled,  scream- 
ing and  apparently  terrified.  At  first  Mark  ascribed  this  unu- 
sual behavior  of  his  feathered  neighbors  to  the  circumstance  of 
their  now  seeing  a  boat,  for  the  commencement  of  such  an  ac- 
quaintance ;  but,  recollecting  how  often  he  had  passed  their 
haunts  in  the  dingui,  when  they  would  hardly  get  out  of  the 
way,  he  soon  felt  certain  there  must  be  another  reason  for  this 
singular  conduct. 

The  sun  went  down  in  a  bank  of  lurid  fire,  and  the  Bridget 
was  still  a  mile  from  the  ship.  A  new  apprehension  now  came 
over  our  hermit.  Should  a  tempest  bring  the  wind  violently 
from  the  westward,  as  was  very  likely  to  be  the  case  under 
actual  circumstances,  he  might  be  driven  out  to  sea,  and,  did 
the  little  craft  resist  the  waves,  forced  so  far  off  as  to  make  him 
lose  the  reef  altogether.  Then  it  was  that  Mark  deeply  felt 
how  much  had  been  left  him,  by  casting  his  lot  on  that  beau- 
tiful and  luxuriant  crater,  instead  of  reducing  him  to  those 
dregs  of  misery  which  so  many  shipwrecked  mariners  are  com- 
pelled to  swallow  !  How  much,  or  how  many  of  the  blessings 
that  he  enjoyed  on  the  reef,  would  he  not  have  been  willing  to 
part  with,  that  evening,  in  order  to  secure  a  safe  arrival  at  the 
side  of  the  E-ancocus !  By  the  utmost  care  to  profit  by  every 
puff  of  air,  and  by  handling  the  boat  with  the  greatest  skill,  this 
happy  result  was  obtained,  however,  without  any  sacrifice. 

About  nine  o'clock,  and  not  sooner,  the  boat  was  well  secured, 
and  Mark  went  into  his  cabin.  Here  he  knelt  and  returned 
thanks  to  God,  for  his  safe  return  to  a  place  that  was  getting  to 
be  as  precious  to  him  as  the  love  of  life  could  render  it.     After 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  173 

this,  tired  with  his  clay's  work,  the  young  man  got  into  his 
berth  and  endeavored  to  sleep. 

The  fatigue  of  the  day,  notwithstanding  the  invigorating 
freshness  of  the  breeze,  acted  as  an  anodyne,  and  onr  young 
man  soon  forgot  his  adventures  and  his  boat,  in  profound  slum- 
'bers.  It  was  many  hours  ere  Mark  awoke,  and  when  he  did,  it 
'was  with  a  sense  of  suffocation.  At  first  he  thought  the  ship 
had  taken  fire,  a  lurid  light  gleaming  in  at  the  open  door  of  the 
cabin,  and  he  sprang  to  his  feet  in  recollection  of  the  danger  he 
ran  from  the  magazine,  as  well  as  from  being  burned.  But  no 
cracking  of  flames  reaching  his  ears,  he  dressed  hastily  and 
went  out  on  the  poop.  He  had  just  reached  this  deck,  when 
he  felt  the  whole  ship  tremble  from  her  truck  to  her  keel,  and  a 
rushing  of  water  was  heard  on  all  sides  of  him,  as  if  a  flood 
were  coming.  Hissing  sounds  were  heard,  and  streams  of  fire 
and  gleams  of  lurid  light  were  seen  in  the  air.  It  was  a  terri- 
ble moment,  and  one  that  might  well  induce  any  man  to  imag- 
ine that  time  was  drawing  to  its  close. 

Mark  Woolston  now  comprehended  his  situation,  notwith- 
standing the  intense  darkness  which  prevailed,  except  in  those 
brief  intervals  of  lurid  light.  He  had  felt  the  shock  of  an 
earthquake,  and  the  volcano  had  suddenly  become  active. 
Smcke  and  ashes  certainly  filled  the  air,  and  our  poor  hermit 
instinctively  looked  toward  his  crater,  already  so  verdant  and 
lively,  in  the  expectation  of  seeing  it  vomit  flames.  Every  thing 
there  was  tranquil ;  the  danger,  if  danger  there  was,  was  assur- 
edly more  remote.  But  the  murky  vapor  which  rendered 
breathing  exceedingly  difficult,  also  obstructed  the  view,  and 
prevented  his  seeing  where  the  explosion  really  was.  For  a 
brief  space  our  young  man  fancied  he  must  certainly  be  suffoca- 
ted;  but  a  shift  of  wind  came  and  blew  away  the  oppressive 
vapor,  clearing  the  atmosphere  of  its  sulphurous  and  most  offen- 
sive gases  and  odors.  Never  did  feverish  tongue  enjoy  the 
cooling  and  healthful  draught  more  than  Mark  rejoiced  in  this 
change.  The  wind  had  got  back  to  its  old  quarter,  and  the  air 
he  respired  soon  became  pure  and  refreshing.     Had  the  impure 


174  the    crater: 

atmosphere  lasted  ten  minutes  longer,  Mark  felt  persuaded  ho 
could  not  have  breathed  it  with  any  safety. 

The  light  was  now  most  impatiently  expected  by  our  young 
man.  The  minutes  seemed  to  drag ;  but,  at  length,  the  usual 
signs  of  returning  day  became  apparent  to  him,  and  he  got  on 
the  bowsprit  of  the  ship,  as  if  to  meet  it  in  its  approach.  There 
he  stood  looking  to  the  eastward,  eager  to  have  ray  after  ray 
shoot  into  the  firmament,  when  he  was  suddenly  struck  with  a 
change  in  that  quarter  of  the  ocean,  which  at  once  proclaimed 
the  power  of  the  effort  which  the  earth  had  made  in  its  subter- 
ranean throes.  Naked  rocks  appeared  in  places  where,  Mark 
was  certain,  water  in  abundance  had  existed  a  few  hours  before. 
The  sea-wall,  directly  ahead  of  the  ship,  and  which  never  showed 
it  si  It'  above  the  surface  more  than  two  or  three  inches  in  any 
part  of  it,  and  that  only  at  exceedingly  neap  tides,  was  now  not 
only  bare  for  a  long  distance,  but  parts  rose  ten  and  fifteen  feet 
above  the  surrounding  sea.  This  proved,  at  once,  that  the  earth- 
quake had  thrust  upward  a  vast  surface  of  the  reef,  completely 
altering  the  whole  appearance  of  the  shoal !  In  a  word,  nature 
had  made  another  effort,  and  islands  had  been  created,  as  it 
might  be  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 

Mark  was  no  sooner  assured  of  this  stupendous  fact,  than  he 
hurried  on  to  the  poop,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  changes  had 
occurred  in  and  about  the  crater.  It  had  been  pushed  upward, 
in  common  with  all  the  rocks  for  miles  on  every  side  of  it, 
though  without  disturbing  its  surface !  By  the  computation  of 
our  young  man,  the  reef,  which  previously  lay  about  six  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  was  now  fully  twenty,  so  many 
cubits  having  been,  by  one  single  but  mighty  effort  of  naiure, 
added  to  its  stature.  The  planks  which  led  from  the  stern  of 
the  vessel  to  the  shore,  and  which  had  formed  a  descent,  were 
now  nearly  level,  so  much  water  having  left  the  basin  as  to  pro- 
duce this  change.  Still  the  ship  floated,  enough  remaining  to 
keep  her  keel  clear  of  the  bottom. 

Impatient  to  learn  all,  Mark  ran  ashore,  for  by  this  time  it  was 
broad  daylight,,  and  hastened  into  the  crater,  with  an  intention 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  175 

to  ascend  at  once  to  the  Summit.  As  he  passed  along,  he  could 
detect  no  change  whatever  on  the  surface  of  the  reef,  every- 
thing lying  just  as  it  had  been  left,  and  the  pigs  and  poultry 
were  at  their  usual  business  of  providing  for  their  own  wants. 
Ashes,  however,  were  strewn  over  the  rocks  to  a  depth  that  left 
his  footprints  as  distinct  as  they  could  have  been  made  in  a  light 
snow.  Within  the  crater  the  same  appearances  were  observed, 
fully  an  inch  of  ashes  covering  its  verdant  pastures  and  the 
whole  garden.  This  gave  Mark  very  little  concern,  for  he  knew 
that  the  first  rain  would  wash  this  drab-looking  mantle  into  the 
earth,  where  it  would  answer  all  the  purposes  of  a  rich  dressing 
of  manure. 

On  reaching  the  Summit,  our  young  man  was  enabled  to  form 
a  better  opinion  of  the  vast  changes  which  had  been  wrought 
around  him,  by  this  sudden  elevation  of  the  earth's  crust.     Ev- 
erywhere sea  seemed  to  be  converted  into  land,  or,  at  least,  into 
rock.     All  the  white  water  had  disappeared,  and  in  its  place 
arose  islands  of  rock,  or  mud,  or  sand.     A  good   deal  of  the 
last  was  to  be  seen,  and  some  quite  near  the  reef,  as  we  shall  still 
continue  to  call  the  island  of  the  crater.     Island,  however,  it 
could  now  hardly  be  termed.     It  is  true  that  ribands  of  water 
approached  it  on  all  sides,  resembling  creeks,  and  rivers,  and 
small  sounds ;  but,  as  Mark  stood  there  on  the  Summit,  it  seem- 
ed to  kirn  that  it  was  now  possible  to  walk  for  leagues,  in  every 
direction,  commencing  at  the  crater  and  following  the  lines  of 
reefs,  and  rocks,  and  sands,  that  had  been  laid  bare  by  the  late 
upheaving.     The  extent  of  this  change  gave  him  confidence  in 
its  p  rmanency,  and  the  young  man  had  hopes  that  what  had 
thus  been  produced  by  the  providence  of  God,  would  be  per- 
mitted to  remain,  to  answer  his  own  benevolent  purposes.     It 
certainly  made  an  immense  difference  in  his  own  situation.    The 
boat  could  still  be  used,  but  it  was  now  possible  for  him  to  ram- 
ble for  hours,  if  not  for  days,  along  the  necks,  and  banks,  and 
hummocks,  and  swales  that  had  been  formed,  and  that  with  a 
dry  tbot.     His  limits  were  so  much  enlarged  as  to  offer  some- 
thing like  a  new  world  to  his  enterprise  and  curiosity. 


176 


the    crater: 


The  crater,  nevertheless,  was  apparently  about  the  centre  of 
this  new  creation.  To  the  south,  it  is  true,  the  eye  could  not 
penetrate  more  than  two  or  three  leagues.  A  vast,  dun-looking 
cloud  still  covered  the  sea  in  that  direction,  veiling  its  surface 
far  «,nd  wide,  and  mingling  with  the  vapors  of  the  upper 
atmosphere.  Somewhere  within  this  cloud,  how  far  or  how 
near  from  him  he  knew  not,  Mark  made  no  doubt  a  new  outlet 
to  the  pent  forces  of  the  inner  earth  was  to  be  found,  forming 
another  and  an  active  crater  for  the  exit  of  the  fires  beneath. 
Geology  was  a  science  that  had  not  made  its  present  progress 
in  the  day  of  Mark  Woolston,  but  his  education  had  been  too 
good  to  leave  him  totally  without  a  theory  for  what  had  hap- 
pened. He  supposed  that  the  internal  fires  had  produced  so 
much  gas,  just  beneath  this  spot, -as  to' open  crevices  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the-  ocean,  through  which  water  had  flowed  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  create  a  vast  body  of  steam,  which  steam 
had  been  the  immediate  agent  of  lifting  so  much  of  the  rock 
and  land,  and  of  causing  the  earthquake.  At  the  same  time, 
the  internal  fires  had  acted  in  concert ;  and  following  an  open- 
ing, they  had  got  so  near  the  surface  as  to  force  a  chimney  foi 
their  own  exit,  in  the  form  of  this  new  crater,  of  the  existence 
of  which,  from  all  the  signs  to  the  southward,  Mark  did  not  en- 
tertain the  smallest  doubt. 

This  theory  may  have  been  true,  in  whole  or  in  part,  or  it 
may  have  been  altogether  erroneous.  Such  speculations  seldom 
turn  out  to  be  minutely  accurate.  So  many  unknown  causes 
exist  in  so  many  unexpected  forms,  as  to  render  precise  esti- 
mates of  their  effects,  in  cases  of  physical  phenomena,  almost 
as  uncertain  as  those  which  follow  similar  attempts  at  an  analy- 
sis of  human  motives  and  human  conduct.  The  man  who  has 
been  much  the  subject  of  the  conjectures  and  opinions  of  his 
fellow-creatures,  in  this  way,  must  have  many  occasions  to  won- 
der, and  some  to  smile,  when  he  sees  how  completely  those 
around  him  misjudge  his  wishes  and  impulses.  Although 
formed  of  the  same  substance,  influenced  by  the  same  selfish 
nes3,  and  governed  by  the  same  passions,  in  nothing   lo  men 


ob,    vulcan's    peak.  177 

oftener  err  than  in  this  portion  of  the  exercise  of  their  intellects. 
The  errors  arise  from  one  man's  rigidly  judging  his  fellow  by 
himself,  and  that  which  he  would  do  he  fancies  others  would 
do  also.  This  rule  would  be  pretty  safe,  could  we  always  pen- 
etrate into  the  wants  and  longings  of  others,  which  quite  as  often 
fail  to  correspond  closely  with  our  own,  as  do  their  characters, 
fortunes,  and  hopes. 

At  first  sight,  Mark  had  a  good  deal  of  difficulty  in  under- 
standing the  predominant  nature  of  the  very  many  bodies  of 
water  that  were  to  be  seen  on  every  side  of  him.  On  the 
whole,  there  still  remained  almost  as  much  of  one  element  as 
of  the  other,  in  the  view ;  which  of  itself,  however,  was  a  vast 
change  from  what  had  previously  been  the  condition  of  the 
shoals.  There  were  large  bodies  of  water,  little  lakes  in  extent, 
which  it  was  obvious  enough  must  disappear  under  the  process 
of  evaporation,  no  communication  existing  between  them  and 
the  open  ocean.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  many  of  these  sheets 
were  sounds,  or  arms  of  the  sea,  that  must  always  continue, 
since  they  might  be  traced,  far  as  eye  could  reach,  toward  the 
mighty  Pacific.  Such,  Mark  was  induced  to  believe,  was  the 
fact  with  the  belt  of  water  that  still  surrounded,  or  nearly  sur- 
rounded the  reef;  for,  placed  where  he  was,  the  young  man 
was  unable  to  ascertain  whether  the  latter  had,  or  had  not,  at  a 
particular  point,  any  land  communication  with  an  extensive 
range  of  naked  rock,  sand,  mud,  and  deposit,  that  stretched 
away  to  the  westward,  for  leagues.  In  obvious  connection 
with  this  broad  reach  of  what  might  be  termed  bare  ground, 
were  Guano  and  Loam  Islands  ;  neither  of  which  was  an  island 
any  longer,  except  as  it  was  a  part  of  the  whole  formation 
around  it.  Nevertheless,  our  young  man  was  not  sorry  to  see 
that  the  channel  arouud  the  reef  still  washed  the  bases  of 
both  those  important  places  of  deposit,  leaving  it  in  his  power 
to  transport  their  valuable  manures  by  means  of  the  raft,  or 
boat. 

The  situation  of  the  ship  next  became  the  matter  of  Mark's 
most  curious  and  interested   investigation.      She   was  clearly 


178  the    crater: 

afloat,  and  the  basin  in  which  she  rode  had  a  communication  on 
each  side  of  it,  with  the  sound,  or  inlet,  that  still  encircled  the 
reef.  Descending  to  the  shore,  our  young  mariner  got  into  the 
dingui,  and  pulled  out  round  the  vessel,  to  make  a  more  minute 
examination.  So  very  limpid  was  the  water  of  that  sea,  it  was 
easy  enough  to  discern  a  bright  object  on  the  bottom,  at  a 
depth  of  several  fathoms.  There  were  no  streams  in  that  part  of 
the  world  to  pour  their  deposits  into  the  ocean,  and  air  itself  is 
scarce  more  transparent  than  the  pure  water  of  the  ocean,  when 
unpolluted  with  any  foreign  substances.  All  it  wants  is  light, 
to  enable  the  eye  to  reach  into  its  mysteries  for  a  long  way. 
Mark  could  very  distinctly  perceive  the  sand  beneath  the  Ran- 
cocus'  keel,  and  saw  that  the  ship  still  floated  two  or  three  feet 
clear  of  the  bottom.  It  was  near  high  water,  however;  and, 
there  being  usually  a  tide  of  about  twenty  inches,  it  was  plain 
enough  that,  on  certain  winds,  the  good  old  craft  would  come 
in  pretty  close  contact  with  the  bottom.  All  expectation  of 
ever  getting  the  vessel  out  of  the  basin  must  now  be  certainly 
abandoned,  since  she  lay  in  a  sort  of  cavity,  where  the  water 
was  six  or  eight  feet  deeper  than  it  was  within  a  hundred  yards 
on  each  side  of  her. 

Having  ascertained  these  facts,  Mark  provided  himself  with  a 
fowling-piece,  provisions,  etc.,  and  set  out  to  explore  his  newly- 
acquired  territories  on  foot.  His  steps  were  first  directed  to 
the  point  where  it  appeared  to  the  eye  that  the  vast  range  of 
dry  land  to  the  westward,  extending  both  north  and  south,  had 
become  connected  with  the  reef.  If  such  connection  existe  !  at 
all,  it  was  by  two  very  narrow  necks  of  rock,  of  equal  height, 
both  of  which  had  come  up  out  of  the  water  under  the  late 
action,  which  action  had  considerably  altered  and  extended  the 
shores  of  Crater  Island.  Sand  appeared  in  various  places  along 
these  shores,  now  ;  whereas,  previously  to  the  earthquake,  they 
had  everywhere  been  nearly  perpendicular  rocks. 

Mark  was  walking,  with  an  impatient  step,  toward  the  neck 
just  mentioned,  and  which  was  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
ship-yard,  when  his  eye  was  attracted  toward  a  sandy  beach  of 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  179 

several  acres  in  extent,  that  spread  itself  along  the  margin  of  the 
rocks,  as  clear  from  every  impurity  as  it  was  a  few  hours  before, 
when  it  had  been  raised  from  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  ocean. 
To  him,  it  appeared  that  water  was  trickling  through  this  sand, 
coming  from  beneath  the  lava  of  the  reef.  At  first,  he  supposed 
it  was  merely  the  remains  of  some  small  portion  of  the  ocean 
that  had  penetrated  to  a  cavity  within,  and  which  was  now 
trickling  back  through  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  to  find  its  level, 
under  the  great  law  of  nature.  But  it  looked  so  pleasant  to  see 
once  more  water  of  any  sort  coming  upward  from  the  earth, 
that  the  young  man  jumped  down  upon  the  sands,  and  hastened 
to  the  spot  for  further  inquiry.  Scooping  up  a  little  of  the 
water  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  he  found  it  sweet,  soft,  and 
deliciously  cool.  Here  was  a  discovery,  indeed  !  The  physical 
comfort  for  which  he  most  pined  was  thus  presented  to  him,  as 
bv  a  direct  gift  from  heaven  ;  and  no  miser  who  had  found  a 
hoard  of.  hidden  gold,  could  have  felt  so  great  pleasure,  or  a 
tenth  part  of  the  gratitude,  of  our  young  hermit,  if  hermit  we 
may  call  one  who  did  not  voluntarily  seek  his  seclusion  from 
the  world,  and  who  worshipped  God  less  as  a  penance,  than 
from  love  and  adoration. 

Before  quitting  this  new-found  treasure,  Mark  opened  a  cavi- 
ty in  the  sand  to  receive  the  water,  placing  stone  around  it  to 
make  a  convenient  and  clean  little  basin.  In  ten  minutes  this 
place  was  filled  with  water  almost  as  limpid  as  air,  and  every  way 
as  delicious  as  the  palate  of  man  could  require.  The  young  man 
could  scarce  tear  himself  away  from  the  spot,  but,  fearful;  of 
drinking  too  much,  he  did  so,  after  a  time.  Before  quitting  the 
spring,  however,  he  placed  a  stone  of  some  size  at  a  gap  in  the 
rock — a  precaution  that  completely  prevented  the  hogs,  should 
they  stroll  that  way,  from  descending  to  the  beach  and  defiling 
the  limpid  basin.  As  soon  as  he  had  leisure,  Mark  resolved  to 
sink  a  barrel  in  the  sand,  and  to  build  a  fence  around  it ;  after 
which  the  stock  might  descend  and  drink  at  a  pool  he  should 
form  below,  at  pleasure. 

Mark    proceeded.     On  reaching  the    narrowest  part  of   the 


180  the    crater: 

neck,  he  found  that  the  rocks  did  not  meet,  but  the  reef 
still  remained  an  island.  The  channel  that  separated  the  two 
points  of  rock  was  only  about  twenty  feet  wide,  however,  though 
it  was  of  fully  twice  that  depth.  The  young  man  found  it  nec- 
essary to  go  back  to  the  ship-yard  (no  great  distance,  by  the 
way),  and  to  bring  a  plank  with  which  to  make  a  bridge.  This 
done,  he  passed  on  to  the  newly  emerged  territory.  As  might 
have  been  expected,  the  rocks  were  found  tolerably  well  furnish- 
ed with  fish,  which  had  got  caught  in  pools  and  crevices  when 
the  water  flowed  into  the  sea ;  and,  what  was  of  still  more  im- 
portance, another  and  a  much  larger  spring  of  fresh  water  was 
found  quite  near  the  bridge,  gushing  through  a  deposit  of  sand 
of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  acres  in  extent.  The  water  of  this 
spring  had  run  down  into  a  cavity,  where  it  had  already  formed 
a  little  lake  of  some  two  acres  in  surface,  and  whence  it  was 
already  running  into  the  sea,  by  overflowing  its  banks.  These 
two  discoveries  induced  Mark  to  return  to  the  reef  again,  in 
quest  of  the  stock.  After  laying  another  plank  at  his  bridge, 
he  called  every  creature  he  had  over  into  the  new  territory  ; 
for  so  great  was  the  command  he  had  obtained  over  even  the 
ducks,  that  all  came  willingly  at  his  call.  As  for  Kitty,  she 
was  never  more  happy  than  when  trotting  at  his  side,  accom- 
panying him  in  his  walks,  like  a  dog. 

Glad  enough  were  the  pigs,  in  particular,  to  obtain  this  new 
range.  Here  was  every  thing  they  could  want ;  food  in  thou- 
sands, sand  to  root  on,  fresh  water  to  drink,  pools  to  wallow  in, 
and  range  for  their  migratory  propensities.  Mark  had  no  sooner 
set  them  at  work  on  the  sea-weed  and  shell-fish  that  abounded 
there,  for  the  time  being,  at  least,  than  he  foresaw  he  should 
have  to  erect  a  gate  at  his  bridge,  and  keep  the  hogs  here  most 
of  the  time.  With  such  a  range,  and  the  deposits  of  the  tides 
alone,  they  would  have  no  great  difficulty  in  making  their  own 
living.  This  would  enable  him  to  increase  the  number  kept, 
which  he  had  hitherto  been  obliged  to  keep  down  with  the 
most  rigid  attention  to  the  increase. 

Mark  now  set  out,  in  earnest,  on  his  travels.     He  was  absent 


or,    vulcan's     peak.  181 

from  the  reef  the  entire  day.  At  one  time,  he  thought  he  waa 
quite  two  leagues  in  a  straight  line  from  the  ship,  though  he 
had  been  compelled  to  walk  four  to  get  there.  Everywhere 
he  found  large  sheets  of  salt  water,  that  had  been  left  on  the 
rocks,  in  consequence  of  the  cavities  in  the  latter.  In  several 
instances,  these  little  lakes  were  near  a  mile  in  length,  having 
the  most  beautifully  undulating  outlines.  None  of  them  were 
deep,  of  course,  though  their  bottoms  varied.  Some  of  these 
bottoms  were  clean  rock ;  others  contained  large  deposits  of 
mud ;  and  others,  again,  were  of  a  clean,  dark-colored  sand. 
One,  and  one  only,  had  a  bottom  of  a  bright,  light-colored  sand. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  these  lakes,  or  pools,  must  shortly  evapo- 
rate, leaving  their  bottoms  bare,  or  encrusted  'with  salt.  One 
thing  gave  the  young  man  great  satisfaction.  He  had  kept 
along  the  margin  of  the  channel  that  communicated  with  the 
water  that  surrounded  the  reef,  and,  when  at  the  greatest  dis"- 
tance  from  the  crater,  he  ascended  a  rock  that  must  have  had 
an  elevation  of  a  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  Of  course,  most 
of  this  rock  had  been  above  water  previously  to  the  late  erup- 
tion, and  Mark  had  often  seen  it  at  a  distance,  though  he  had 
never  ventured  through  the  white  water  near  so  far,  in  the  din- 
gui.  When  on  its  apex,  Mark  got  an  extensive  view  of  the 
scene  around  him.  In  the  first  place,  he  traced  the  channel 
just  mentioned,  quite  into  open  water,  which  now  appeared 
distinctly  not  many  leagues  further,  toward  the  north-west. 
There  were  a  great  many  other  channels,  some  mere  ribands  of 
water,  others  narrow  sounds,  and  many  resembling  broad,  deep, 
serpentine  creeks,  which  last  was  their  true  character,  being 
strictly  inlets  from  the  sea.  The  lakes,  or  pools,  could  be  seen 
in  hundreds,  creating  some  confusion  in  the  view  ;  but  all  these 
must  soon  disappear,  in  that  climate. 

Toward  the  southward,  however,  Mark  found  the  objects  of 
his  greatest  wonder  and  admiration.  By  the  time  he  reached 
the  apex  of  the  rock,  the  smoke  in  that  quarter  of  the  horizon 
had,  in  a  great  measure,  risen  from  the  sea ;  though  a  column 
of  it  continued  to  ascend  toward  a  vast,  dun-colored  cloud  that 


182  the    crater: 

overhung  the  place.  To  Mark's  astonishment  he  had  seen  some 
dark,  dense  body  first  looming  through  the  rising  vapor.  When 
the  last  was  sufficiently  removed,  a  high,  ragged  mountain  be- 
came distinctly  visible.  He  thought  it  arose  at  least  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  ocean,  and  that  it  could  not  be  less  than  a  league 
in  extent.  This  exhibition  of  the  power  of  nature  filled  the 
young  man's  soul  with  adoration  and  reverence  for  the  mighty 
Being  that  could  set  such  elements  at  work.  It  did  not  alarm 
him,  but  rather  tended  to  quiet  his  longings  to  quit  the  place; 
for  he  who  lives  amid  such  scenes  feels  that  he  is  so  much 
nearer  to  the  arm  of  God  than  those  who  dwell  in  uniform 
security,  as  to  think  less  of  ordinary  advantages  than  is  com- 
mon. 

Mark  knew  that  there  must  have  been  a  dislocation  of  the 
rocks  to  produce  such  a  change  as  that  he  saw  to  the  southward. 
It  was  well  for  him  it  occurred  there  at  a  distance,  as  he  then 
thought,  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles  from  the  reef,  though  in  truth  it 
was  at  quite  fifty,  instead  of  happening  beneath  him.  It  was 
possible,  however,  for  one  to  have  been  on  the  top  of  that 
mountain,  and  to  have  lived  through  the  late  change,  could  the 
lungs  of  man  have  breathed  the  atmosphere.  Not  far  from  this 
mountain,  a  column  of  smoke  rose  out  of  the  sea,  and  Mark 
fancied  that,  at  moments,  he  could  discern  the  summit  of  an 
active  crater  at  its  base. 

After  gazing  at  these  astonishing  changes  for  a  long  time,  our 
young  man  descended  from  the  height  and  retraced  his  steps 
homeward.  Kitty  gladly  preceded  him,  and  some  time  after  the 
sun  had  set,  they  regained  the  reef.  About  a  mile  short  of 
home,  Mark  passed  all  the  hogs,  snugly  deposited  in  a  bed  of 
mud,  where  they  had  ensconced  themselves  for  the  night,  as  one 
draws  himself  beneath  his  blanket. 


ob,    vulcan's    peak.  183 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"All  things  in  common  nature  should  produce 

■Without  sweat  or  endeavor ;  treason,  felony, 

Sword,  pike,  gun,  or  need  of  any  engine 

Would  I  not  have ;  but  nature  should  bring  forth, 

Of  its  own  kind,  all  foizen,  all  abundance 

To  feed  my  innocent  people." 

Tempest, 

For  the  next  ten  days  Mark  Woolston  did  little  but  explore. 
By  crossing  the  channel  around  the  reef,  which  he  had  named 
the  "Armlet"  (the  young  man  often  talked  to  himself),  he 
reached  the  sea-wall,  and,  once  there,  he  made  a  long  excur- 
sion to  the  eastward.  He  now  walked  dryshod  over  those  very 
reefs  among  which  he  had  so  recently  sailed  in  the  Bridget, 
though  the  ship-channel  through  which  he  and  Bob  had  brought 
in  the  Rancocus,  still  remained.  The  two  buoys  that  had  mark- 
ed the  narrow  passage,  were  found  high  and  dry ;  and  the  an- 
chor of  the  ship,  that  by  which  she  rode  after  beating  over  the 
rocks  into  deep  water,  was  to  be  seen  so  near  the  surface  that 
the  stock  could  be  reached  by  the  hand. 

There  was  little  difference  in  character  between  the  newly- 
made  land  to  windward  and  that  which  Mark  had  found  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Large  pools,  or  lakes,  of  salt  water,  depos- 
its of  mud  and  sand,  some  of  which  were  of  considerable  ex- 
tent and  thickness,  sounds,  creeks,  and  arms  of  the  sea,  with 
here  and  there  a  hummock  of  rock  that  rose  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  above  the  face  of  the  main  body,  were  the  distinguishing 
peculiarities.  For  two  days  Mark  explored  in  this  direction,  or 
to  windward,  reaching  as  far,  by  his  estimate  of  the  distance, 
as  the  place  where  he  had  bore  up  in  his  cruise  in  the  Bridget. 
Finding  a  great  many  obstacles  in  the  way,  channels,  mud,  etc., 


184  the    crater: 

lie  determined,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second  da}",  to  return 
home,  get  a  stock  of  supplies,  and  come  out  in  the  boat,  in  or- 
der to  ascertain  if  he  could  not  now  reach  the  open  water  to 
windward. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  after  the  earthquake,  and 
the  occurrence  of  the  mighty  change  that  had  altered  the 
whole  face  of  the  scene  around  him,  the  young  man  got  under 
way  in  the  Bridget.  He  shaped  his  course  to  windward,  beat- 
ing out  of  the  Armlet  by  a  narrow  passage,  that  carried  him 
into  a  reach  that  stretched  away  for  several  miles,  to  the  north- 
ward and  eastward,  in  nearly  a  straight  line.  This  passage,  or 
sound,  was  about  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  there  was  water 
enough  in  nearly  all  parts  of  it  to  float  the  largest  sized  vessel. 
By  this  passage  the  poor  hermit,  small  as  was  his  chance  of 
ever  seeing  such  an  event  occur,  hoped  it  might  be  possible  to 
come  to  the  very  side  of  the  reef  in  a  ship. 

"When  about  three  leagues  from  the  crater,  the  "  Hope 
Channel,"  as  Mark  named  this  long  and  direct  passage,  divided 
into  two,  one  trending  still  more  to  the  northward,  running 
nearly  due  north,  indeed,  while  the  other  might  be  followed  in 
a  south-easterly  direction,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Mark 
named  the  rock  at  the  junction  "Point  Fork,"  and  chose  the 
latter  passage,  which  appeared  the  most  promising,  and  the 
wind  permitting  him  to  lay  through  it.  The  Bridget  tacked  in 
the  forks,  therefore,  and  stood  away  to  the  south-east,  pretty 
close  to  the  wind.  Various  other  channels  communicated  with 
this  main  passage,  or  the  Hope  ;  and,  about  noon,  Mark  tacked 
into  one  of  them,  heading  about  north-east,  when  trimmed  up 
sharp  to  do  so.  The  water  was  deep,  and  at  first  the  passage 
was  half  a  mile  in  width  ;  but  after  standing  along  it  for  a 
mile  or  two,  it  seemed  all  at  once  to  terminate  in  an  oval  basin, 
that  might  have  been  a  mile  in  its  largest  diameter,  and  which 
was  bounded  to  the  eastward  by  a  belt  of  rock  that  rose  some 
twenty  feet  abow  the  water.  The  bottom  of  this  basin  was  a 
clear,  beautiful  sand,  and  its  depth  of  water,  on  sounding,  Mark 
found  was  uniformly  about  eight  fathoms.      A  more  safe  or  con- 


or,    vul  can's    peak.  185 

venient  basin  for  the  anchorage  of  ships  could  not  have  been 
formed  by  the  art  of  man,  had  there  been  an  entrance  to  it,  and 
any  inducement  for  them  to  come  there. 

Mark  had  beaten  about  "Oval  Harbor,"  as  he  named  the 
place,  for  half  an  hour,  before  he  was  struck  by  the  circum- 
stance that  the  even  character  of  its  surface  appeared  to  be  a 
little  disturbed  by  a  slight  undulation  which  seemed  to  come 
from  its  north-eastern  extremity.  Tacking  the  Bridget,  he 
stood  in  that  direction,  and  on  reaching  the  place,  found  that 
there  was  a  passage  through  the  rock  of  about  a  hundred  yards 
in  width.  The  wind  permitting,  the  boat  shot  through  this 
passage,  and  was  immediately  heaving  and  setting  in  the  long 
swells  of  the  open  ocean.  At  first  Mark  was  startled  by  the 
roar  of  the  waves  that  plunged  into  the  caverns  of  the  rocks, 
and  trembled  lest  his  boat  might  be  hove  up  against  that  hard 
and  iron-bound  coast,  where  one  toss  would  shatter  his  little 
craft  into  splinters.  Too  steady,  a  seaman,  however,  to  abandon 
his  object  unnecessarily,  he  stood  on,  and  soon  found  he  could 
weather  the  rocks  under  his  lee,  tacking  in  time.  After  two  or 
three  short  stretches  were  made,  Mark  found  himself  half  a 
mile  to  windward  of  a  long  line,  or  coast  of  dark  rock,  that  rose 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water, 
and  beyond  all  question  in  the  open  ocean.  He  hove-to  to 
sound,  and  let  forty  fathoms  of  line  out  without  reaching  bot- 
tom. But  everywhere  to  leeward  of  him  was  land,  or  rock ; 
while  everywhere  to  windward,  as  well  as  ahead  and  astern,  it 
was  clear  water.  This,  then,  was  the  eastern  limit  of  the  old 
shoals,  now  converted  into  dry  land.  Here  the  Rancocus  had, 
unknown  to  her  officers,  first  run  into  the  midst  of  these  shoals, 
by  which  she  had  ever  since  been  environed. 

It  was  not  easy  to  compute  the  precise  distance  from  the 
outlet  or  inlet  of  Oval  Harbor  to  the  crater.  Mark  thought 
it  might  be  five-and-twenty  miles,  in  a  straight  line,  judging 
equally  by  the  eye  and  the  time  he  had  been  in  running  it. 
The  Summit  was  not  to  be  seen,  however,  any  more  than  the 
masts  of  the  ship  ;    though  the  distant  peak  and  the  column 


186  the    crater: 

of  dark  smoke  remained  in  sight,  as  eternal  land-marks.  Tho 
young  man  might  have  been  an  hour  in  the  open  sea,  gradually 
hauling  off  the  land,  in  order  to  keep  clear  of  the  coast,  when 
he  bethought  him  of  returning.  It  required  a  good  deal  of 
nerve  to  run  in  toward  those  rocks,  under  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  case.  The  wind  blew  fresh,  so  much  indeed  as  to  in- 
duce Mark  to  reef,  but  there  must  always  be  a  heavy  swell  roll- 
ing in  upon  that  iron-bound  shore.  The  shock  of  such  waves 
expending  their  whole  force  on  perpendicular  rocks  may  be  im- 
agined better  than  it  can  be  described.  There  was  an  undying 
roar  all  along  that  coast,  produced  by  these  incessant  collisions 
of  the  elements;  and  occasionally,  when  a  sea  entered  a  cavern 
in  a  way  suddenly  to  expel  its  air,  the  sound  resembled  that 
which  some  huge  animal  might  be  supposed  to  utter  in  its 
agony  or  its  anger.  Of  course,  the  spray  was  flying  high,  and 
the  entire  line  of  black  rocks  was  white  with  its  particles. 

Mark  had  unwittingly  omitted  to  take  any  land-marks  to  his 
inlet,  or  strait.  He  had  no  other  means  of  finding  it,  therefore, 
than  to  discover  a  spot  in  which  the  line  of  white  was. broken. 
This  inlet,  however,  he  remembered  did  not  open  at  right 
angles  to  the  coast,  but  obliquely  ;  and  it  was  very  possible  to 
be  within  a  hundred  yards  of  it,  and  not  see  it.  This  fact  our 
young  sailor  was  not  long  in  ascertaining ;  for,  standing  in 
toward  the  point  where  he  expected  to  find  the  entrance,  and 
going  as  close  to  the  shore  as  he  dared,  he  could  see  nothing  of 
the  desired  passage.  For  an  hour  did  he  search,  passing  to  and 
fro,  but  without  success.  The  idea  of  remaining  out  in  the 
open  sea  for  the  night,  and  to  windward  of  such  an  inhospita- 
ble coast,  was  any  thing  but  pleasant  to  Mark,  and  he  determin- 
ed to  stand  to  the  northward  now,  while  it  was  day,  and  look 
for  some  other  entrance. 

For  four  hours  did  Mark  Woolston  run  along  those  dark  rocks, 
whitened  only  by  the  spray  of  the  wide  ocean,  without  perceiv- 
ing a  point  at  which  a  boat  might  even  land.  As  he  was  now 
running  off  the  wind,  and  had  turned  out  his  reef,  he  supposed 
he  must  have  gone  at  least  five-and -twenty  miles,  if  not  thirty,  in 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  187 

that  time  ;  and  thus  had  he  some  means  of  judging  of  the  ex- 
tent of  his  new  territories.  About  five  in  the  afternoon  a  cape, 
or  headland,  was  reached,  when  the  coast  suddenly  trended  to 
the  westward.  This,  then,  was  the  north-eastern  angle  of  the 
entire  formation,  and  Mark  named  it  Cape  North-East.  The 
boat  was  now  jibed,  and  ran  off  west,  a  little  northerly,  for  an- 
other hour,  keeping  quite  close  in  to  the  coast,  which  was  no 
longer  dangerous  as  soon  as  the  cape  was  doubled.  The  seas 
broke  upon  the  rocks,  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  but,  there  being  a 
lee,  it  was  only  under  the  power  of  the  ceaseless  undulations  of 
the  ocean.  Even  the  force  of  the  wind  was  now  much  less  felt, 
the  Bridget  carrying  whole  sail  when  hauled  up,  as  Mark  placed 
her  several  times,  in  order  to  examine  apparent  inlets. 

It  was  getting  to  be  too  late  to  think  of  reaching  home  that 
night,  for  running  in  those  unknown  channels  after  dark  was 
not  a  desirable  course  for  an  explorer  to  adopt.  Our  young 
man,  therefore,  limited  his  search  to  some  place  where  he  might 
lie  until  the  return  of  light.  It  is  true,  the  lee  formed  by  the 
rocks  was  now  such  as  to  enable  him  to  remain  outsi  ;,  with 
safety,  until  morning ;  but  he  preferred  greatly  to  get  within 
the  islands,  if  possible,  to  trusting  himself,  while  asleep,  to  the 
mercy  of  the  open  ocean.  Just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  leaving 
the  evening  cool  and  pleasant,  after  the  warmth  of  an  exceeding- 
ly hot  day,  the  boat  doubled  a  piece  of  low  headland ;  and 
Mark  had  half  made  up  his  mind  to  get  under  its  lee,  and 
heave  a  grapnel  ashore,  in  order  to  ride  by  his  cable  during  the 
approaching  night,  when  au  opening  in  the  coast  greeted  his 
eyes.  It  was  just  as.  he  doubled  the  cape.  This  opening  ap- 
peared to  be  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  it  had  perfectly 
smooth  wat'T  a  half-gunshot  within  its  mouth.  The  helm  was 
put  down,  the  sheets  hauled  aft,  and  the  Bridget  luffed  into  this 
creek,  estuary,  sound,  or  harbor,  whichever  it  might  prove  to 
be.  For  twenty  minutes  did  Mark  stand  on  through  this  pas- 
sage, when  suddenly  it  expanded  into  a  basin,  or  bay,  of  con- 
siderable extent.  This  was  at  a  distance  of  about  a  league 
within  the  coast.     This  bay  was  a  league  long,  and  half  a  league 


188  the    crater: 

in  width,  the  boat  entering  it  close  to  its  weather  side.  A  long 
and  wide  sandy  beach  offered  on  that  side,  and  the  young  man 
stood  along  it  a  short  distance,  until  the  sight  of  a  spring  in- 
duced him  to  put  his  helm  down.  The  boat  luffed  short  round, 
and  came  gently  upon  the  beach.  A  grapnel  was  thrown  on 
the  sands,  and  Mark  leaped  ashore. 

The  water  proved  to  be  sweet,  cool,  and  every  way  delicious. 
This  was  at  least  the  twentieth  spring  which  had  been  seen  that 
day,  though  it  was  the  lirst  of  which  the  waters  had  been  tasted. 
This  new-born  beach  had  every  appearance  of  having  been  ex- 
posed to  the  air  a  thousand  years.  The  sand  was  perfectly 
clean  and  of  a  bright  golden  color,  and  it  was  well  strewed  with 
shells  of  the  most  magnificent  colors  and  size.  The  odor  of 
their  late  tenants  alone  proclaimed  the  fact  of  their  recent  ship- 
wreck. This,  however,  was  an  evil  that  a  single  month  would 
repair  ;  and  our  sailor  determined  to  make  another  voyage  to 
this  bay,  which  he  called  Shell  Bay,  in  order  to  procure  some 
of  its  easures.  It  was  true,  he  could  not  place  them  befo-e 
the  de'  jhted  eyes  of  Bridget,  but  he  might  arrange  them  in  his 
cabin,  and  fancy  that  she  was  gazing  at  their  beauties.  After 
drinking  at  the  spring,  and  supping  on  the  rocks  above,  Mark 
arranged  a  mattress,  provided  for  that  purpose,  in  the  boat,  and 
w  ml  to  sleep. 

Early  next  morning  the  Bridget  was  again  under  way,  but 
not  until  her  owner  had  both  bathed  and  broken  his  fast. 
Bathe  he  did  every  morning  throughout  the  year,  and  occa- 
sionally at  night  also.  A  day  of  exertion  usually  ended  with  a 
bath,  as  did  a  night  of  sweet  repose  also.  In  all  these  respects 
no  one  could  be  more  fortunate.  From  the  first,  food  had 
been  abundant ;  and  now  he  possessed  it  in  superfluity,  includ- 
ing the  wants  of  all  dependent  on  him.  Of  clothes,  also,  he 
had  an  inexhaustible  supply,  a  small  portion  of  the  cargo  con- 
sisting of  coarse  cotton  jackets  and  trowsers,  with  which  to 
purchase  sandal-wood.  To  these  means,  delicious  water  was 
now  added  in  inexhaustible  quantities.  The  late  changes  had 
given  to  Mark's  possession   territory  sufficient  to  occupy  him 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  189 

months,  even,  in  exploring  it  thoroughly,  as  it  was  his  purpose 
to  do.  God  was  there,  also,  as  he  is  everywhere.  This  our 
secluded  man  found  to  be  a  most  precious  consolation.  Again 
and  again,  each  day,  was  he  now  in  the  practice  of  communing 
in  spirit,  directly  with  his  Creator;  not  in  cold  and  unmeaning 
forms  and  commonplaces,  but  with  such  yearning  of  the  soul, 
and  such  feelings  of  love  and  reverence,  as  an  active  and  living 
faith  can  alone,  by  the  aid  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  awaken  in  the 
numan  breast. 

After  crossing  Shell  Bay,  the  Bridget  continued  on  for  a 
couple  of  hours,  running  south,  westerly,  through  a  passage  of  a 
good  width,  until  it  met  another  channel,  at  a  point  which 
Mark  at  once  recognized  as  the  forks.  When  at  Point  Fork, 
he  had  only  to  follow  the  track  he  had  come  the  previous  day, 
in  order  to  arrive  at  the  reef.  The  crater  could  be  seen  from 
the  forks,  and  there  was  consequently  a  beacon  in  sight,  to 
direct  the  adventurer,  had  he  wanted  such  assistance  ;  which  he 
did  not,  however,  since  he  now  recognized  objects  perfectly 
well  as  he  advanced.  About  ten  o'clock  he  ran  alongside  of 
the  ship,  where  he  found  every  thing  as  he  had  left  it.  Light- 
ing the  fire,  he  put  on  food  sufficient  to  last  him  for  another 
cruise,  and  then  went  up  into  the  cross-trees  in  order  to  take  a 
better  look  than  he  had  yet  obtained,  of  the  state  of  things  to 
the  southward. 

By  this  time  the  vast  murky  cloud  that  had  so  long  over- 
hung the  new  outlet  of  the  volcano,  was  dispersed.  It  was 
succeeded  by  one  of  ordinary  size,  in  which  the  thread  of  smoke 
that  arose  from  the  crater  terminated.  Of  course  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere  was  clear,  and  nothing  but  distance  obstructed 
the  view.  The  peak  was,  indeed,  a  sublime  sight,  issuing,  as  it 
did,  from  the  ocean  without  any  relief.  Mark  now  began  to 
think  he  had  miscalculated  its  height,  and  that  it  might  be  two 
thousand  feet,  instead  of'  one,  above  the  water.  There  it  was, 
in  all  its  glory,  blue  and  misty,  but  ragged  and  noble.  The 
crater  was  clearly  many  miles  beyond  it,  the  young  man  being 
satisfied,  after  this  look,  that  he  had  not  yet  seen  its  summit. 


190  the    crater: 

Ho  also  increased  his  distance  from  Vulcan's  Peak,  as  he  named 
the  mountain,  to  ten  leagues,  at  least.  After  sitting  in  the  cross- 
trees  for  fully  an  hour,  gazing  at  this  height  with  as  much  plea- 
sure as  the  connoisseur  ever  studied  picture  or  statue,  the 
young  man  determined  to  attempt  a  voyage  to  that  place,  in 
the  Bridget.  To  him,  such  an  expedition  had  the  charm  of  the 
novelty  and  change  which  a  journey  from  country  to  town  could 
bring  to  the  wearied  worldling,  who  sighed  for  the  enjoyment 
of  his  old  haunts,  after  a  season  passed  in  the  ennui  of  his  coun- 
try-house. It  is  true,  great  novelties  had  been  presented  to  our 
solitary  youth,  by  the  great  changes  wrought  immediately  in 
his  neighborhood,  and  they  had  now  kept  him  for  a  week  in  a 
condition  of  high  excitement ;  but  nothing  they  presented  could 
equal  the  interest  he  felt  in  that  distant  mountain,  which  had 
arisen  so  suddenly  in  a  horizon  that  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
see  bare  of  any  object  but  clouds,  for  near  eighteen  months. 

That  afternoon  Mark  made  all  his  preparations  for  a  voyage 
that  he  felt  might  be  one  of  great  moment  to  him.  All  the 
symptoms  of  convulsions  in  the  earth,  however,  had  ceased  ; 
even  the  rumbling  sounds  which  he  had  heard,  or  imagined,  in 
the  stillness  of  the  night,  being  no  longer  audible.  From  that 
source,  therefore,  he  had  no  great  apprehensions  of  danger ; 
though  there  was  a  sort  of  dread  majesty  in  the  exhibition  of 
the  power  of  nature  that  he  had  so  lately  witnessed,  which  dis- 
posed him  to  approach  the  scene  of  its  greatest  effort  with 
secret  awe.  So  much  did  he  think  of  the  morrow  and  its 
possible  consequences,  that  he  did  not  get  asleep  for  two  or 
three  hours,  though  he  awoke  in  the  morning  unconscious 
of  any  want  of  rest.  An  hour  later,  he  was  in  his  boat,  and 
under  way. 

Mark  had  now  to  steer  in  an  entirely  new  direction,  believ- 
ing, from  what  he  had  seen  while  aloft  the  day  before,  that  he 
could  make  his  way  out  into  the  open  ocean  by  proceeding  a 
due  south  course.  In  order  to  do  this,  and  to  get  into  the 
most  promising-looking  channel  in  that  direction,  he  was 
obliged  to  pass  through  the  narrow  strait  that  separated  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  191 

reef  from  the  large  range  of  rock  over  which  he  had  -roamed 
the  day  succeeding  the  earthquake.  Of  course,  the  bridge  was 
removed,  in  order  to  allow  the  boat's  mast  to  pass ;  but  for 
this,  Mark  did  not  care.  He  had  seen  his  stock  the  previous 
evening,  and  saw  that  it  wanted  for  nothing.  Even  the  fowls 
had  gone  across  to  the  new  territory,  on  exploring  expeditions ; 
and  Kitty  herself  "had  left  her  sweet  pastures  on  the  Summit, 
to  see  of  what  the  world  was  made  beyond  her  old  range.  It 
is  true,  she  had  made  one  journey  in  that  quarter,  in  the  com- 
pany of  her  master ;  but  one  journey  no  more  satisfied  her 
than  it  would  have  satisfied  the  curiosity  of  any  other  female. 

After  passing  the  bridge,  the  boat  entered  a  long,  narrow 
reach,  that  extended  at  least  two  leagues,  in  nearly  a  direct 
line  toward  Vulcan's  Peak.  As  it  approached  the  end  of  this, 
piece  of  water,  Mark  saw  that  he  must  enter  a  bay  of  consid- 
erable extent ;  one,  indeed,  that  was  much  larger  than  any  he 
had  yet  seen  in  his  island,  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  his 
group  of  islands.  On  one  side  of  this  bay  appeared  a  large 
piece  of  level  land,  or  a  plain,  which  Mark  supposed  might 
cover  one  or  two  thousand  acres.  Its  color  was  so  different 
from  any  thing  he  had  yet  seen,  that  our  young  man  was  in- 
duced to  land,  and  to  walk  a  short  distance  to  examine  it.  On 
reaching  its  margin,  it  was  found  to  be  a  very  shallow  basin,  of 
which  the  bottom  was  mud,  with  a  foot  or  two  of  salt  water 
still  remaining,  and  in  which  sea-weed,  some  ten  or  twelve 
inches  in  thickness,  was  floating.  It  was  almost  possible  for 
Mark  to  walk  on  this  weed,  the  green  appearance  of  which  in-  . 
duced  him  to  name  the  place  the  Prairie.  Such  a  collection  of 
weed  could  only  have  been  owing  to  the  currents,  which  must 
have  brought  it  into  this  basin,  where  it  was  probably  retained 
even  previously  to  the  late  eruption.  The  presence  of  the  de- 
posit of  mud,  as  well  as  the  height  of  the  surrounding  rocks, 
many  of  which  were  doubtless  out  of  water  previously  to  tho 
phenomenon,  went  to  corroborate  this  opinion. 

After  working  her  way  through  a  great  many  channels,  some 
wide  and  some  narrow,  some  true  and  some  false,  the  Bridget 


192  the    crater: 

reached  the  southern  verge  of  the  group,  about  noon.  Mark 
then  supposed  himself  to  be  quite  twenty  miles  from  the  reef, 
and  the  peak  appeared  very  little  nearer  than  when  he  left  it. 
This  startled  him  on  the  score  of  distance ;  and,  after  meditat- 
ing on  all  his  chances,  the  young  man  determined  to  pass  the 
remainder  of  that  day  where  he  was,  in  order  to  put  to  sea 
with  as  much  daylight  before  him  as  possible.  He  desired  also 
to  explore  the  coast  and  islands  in  that  vicinity,  in  order  to 
complete  his  survey  of  the  cluster.  He  looked  for  a  convenient 
place  to  anchor  his  boat,  accordingly,  ate  his  dinner,  and  set 
out  on  foot  to  explore,  armed  as  usual  with  a  fowling-piece. 

In  the  first  place,  an  outlet  to  the  sea  very  different  from  that 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  group,  was  found  here,  on  its  south- 
ern. The  channel  opened  into  a  bay  of  some  size,  with  an  arm 
of  rock  reaching  well  off  on  the  weather  side,  so  that  no 
broken  water  was  encountered  in  passing  into  or  out  of  it,  pro- 
vided one  kept  sufficiently  clear  of  the  point  itself.  As  there 
was  abundance  of  room,  Mark  saw  he  should  have  no  difficulty 
in  getting  out  into  open  water,  here,  or  in  getting  back  again. 
"What  was  more,  the  arm,  or  promontory  of  rock  just  mention- 
ed, had  a  hummock  near  a  hundred  feet  in  height  on  its  ex- 
tremity, that  answered  admirably  for  a  land-mark.  Most  of 
this  hummock  must  have  been  above  water  previously  to  the 
late  eruption,  though  it  appeared  to  our  explorer,  that  all  the 
visible  land,  as  he  proceeded  south,  was  lifted  higher  and  on  a 
gradually-increasing  scale,  as  if  the  eruption  had  exerted  its 
force  at  a  certain  point — the  new  crater,  for  instance — and  raised 
the  earth  to  the  northward  of  that  point,  on  an  inclined  plane. 
This  might  account,  in  a  measure,  for  the  altitude  of  the  peak, 
which  was  near  the  great  crevice  that  must  have  been  left  some  - 
where,  unless  materials  on  its  opposite  side  had  fallen  to  fill  it 
up  again.  Most  of  these  views  were  merely  speculative,  though 
the  fact  of  the  greater  elevation  of  all  the  rocks,  in  this  part  of 
the  group,  over  those  further  north,  was  beyond  dispute.  Thus 
the  coast,  here,  was  generally  fifty  or  eighty  feet  high  ;  where- 
as at  the  reef,  even  now,  the  surface  of  the  common  rock  was 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  193 

not  much  more  than  twenty  feet  above  the  water.  The  rise 
seemed  to  be  gradual,  moreover,  which  certainly  favored  this 
theory. 

As  a  great  deal  of  sand  and  mad  had  been  brought  up  by 
the  eruption,  there  was  no  want  of  fresh  water.  Mark  found 
even  a  little  brook,  of  as  perfectly  sweet  a  stream  as  he  had  ever 
tasted  in  America,  running  into  the  little  harbor  where  he  had 
secured  the  boat.  He  followed  this  stream  two  miles  ere  he 
reached  its  source,  or  sources,  for  it  came  from  at  least  a  dozen 
copious  springs,  that  poured  their  tribute  from  a  bed  of  clean 
sand  several  miles  in  length,  and  which  had  every  sign  of  hav- 
ing been  bare  for  ages.  In  saying  this,  however,  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  the  signs,  as  to  time,  were  very  apparent  any- 
where. Lava,  known  to  have  been  ejected  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  thousands  of  years,  has  just  as  fresh  an  appearance,  to 
the  ordinarv  observer,  as  that  which  was  thrown  out  ten  years 
ago  ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  deposits  of  moist  mud,  the 
remains  of  fish,  sea-weed  tb  it  was  still  undecayed,  pools  of  salt 
water,  and  a  few  other  p(  mliarities  of  the  same  sort,  Mark 
would  have  been  puzzled  to  find  any  difference  between  the 
rocks  recently  thrown  up,  and  those  which  were  formerly  ex- 
posed to  the  air.  Even  the  mud  was  fast  changing  its  appearance, 
cracking  and  drying  under  the  sun  of  the  tropics.  In  a  month 
or  two,  should  as  much  rain  as  usual  fall,  it  was  probable  the 
sea-weed  would  be  far  gone  in  decay. 

It  was  still  early  when  our  adventurer  kneeled  on  the  sand, 
near  his  boat,  to  hold  his  last  direct  communication  with  his 
Creator,  ere  he  slept.  Those  communications  were  now  quite 
frequent  with  Mark,  it  being  no  unusual  thing  for  him  to  hold 
them  when  sailing  in  his  boat,  on  the  deck  of  the  ship,  or  iu 
the  soft,  salubrious  air  of  the  Summit.  He  slept  none  the  less 
soundly  for  having  commended  his  soul  to  God,  asking  support 
against  temptations,  and  forgiveness  for  past  sins.  These  prayers 
were  usually  very  short.  More  than  half  the  time  they  were 
expressed  in  the  compendious  and  beautiful  words  given  to  man 
by  Christ  himself,  the  model  and  substance  of  all  petitions  of 
9 


194  the    crater: 

this  nature.  But  the  words  were  devoutly  uttered,  the  heart 
keeping  even  pace  with  them,  and  the  soul  fully  submitting  to 
their  influence. 

Mark  arose,  next  morning,  two  hours  before  the  light  ap- 
peared, and  at  once  left  the  group.  Time  was  now  important 
to  him  ;  for,  while  he  anticipated  the  possibility  of  remaining 
under  the  lee  of  the  mountain  during  the  succeeding  night,  he 
also  anticipated  the  possibility  of  being  compelled  to  return. 
In  a  favorable  time,  wit  It  the  wind  a  little  free,  five  knots  in  the 
hour  was  about  the  maximum  of  the  boat's  rate  of  sailing, 
though  it  was  affected  by  the  greater  or  less  height  of  the  sea 
that  was  on.  When  the  waves  ran  heavily,  the  Bridget's  low 
sails  got  becalmed  in  the  troughs,  and  she  consequently  lost 
much  of  her  way.  On  the  whole,  however,  five  knots  might 
be  set  down  as  her  average  speed,  under  the  pressure  of  the  or- 
dinary trades,  and  with  whole  canvas  and  a  little  off  the  wind. 
Close-hauled,  she  scarcely  made  more  than  three ;  while,  with 
the  wind  on  the  quarter,  she  oft*  u  went  seven,  especially  in 
smooth  water. 

The  course  steered  was  about  a  point  to  the  westward  of 
south,  the  boat  running  altogether  by  compass  for  the  first  two 
hours.  At  the  end  of  that  time  day  returned,  and  the  dark, 
frowning  peak  itself  became  visible.  The  sun  had  no  sooner 
risen,  than  Mark  felt  satisfied  with  his  boat's  performance.  Ob- 
jects began  to  come  out  of  the  mass  of  the  mountain,  which 
no  longer  appeared  a  pile  of  dark  outline,  without  detail.  He 
expected  this,  and  was  even  disappointed  that  his  eyes  could 
not  command  more,  for  he  now  saw  that  he  had  materially  un- 
derrated the  distance  between  the  crater  and  the  peak,  which 
must  be  nearer  sixty  than  fifty  miles.  The  channel  between  the 
group  and  this  isolated  mass  was,  at  least,  twelve  leagues  in 
width.  These  twelve  leagues  were  now  to  be  run,  and  our 
young  navigator  thought  he  had  made  fully  three  of  them  when 
light  returned. 

From  that  moment  every  mile  made  a  sensible  difference  in 
the  face  of  the  mountain.     Light  and  shadow  first  became  vise- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  195 

ble  ;  then  ravines,  cliffs,  and  colors'  came  into  the  view.  Each 
league  that  he  advanced  increased  Mark's  admiration  and  awe  ; 
and  by  the  time  that  the  boat  was  on  the  last  of  those  leagues 
which  had  appeared  so  long,  he  began  to  have  a  more  accurate 
idea  of  the  sublime  nature  of  the  phenomenon  that  had  been 
wrought  so  near  him.  Vulcan's  Peak,  as  an  island,  could  not 
be  less  than  eight  or  nine  miles  in  length,  though  its  breadth 
did  not  much  exceed  two.  Running  north  and  south,  it  offered 
its  narrow  side  to  the  group  of  the  crater,  which  had  deceived 
its  solitary  observer.  Yes !  of  the  millions  on  earth,  Mark 
Woolston,  alone,  had  been  so  situated  as  to  become  a  witness  of 
this  grand  display  of  the  powers  of  the  elements.  Yet,  what 
was  this  in  comparison  with  the  thousand  vast  globes  that  were 
rolling  about  in  space — objects  so  familiar  as  to  be  seen  daily 
and  nightly  without  raising  a  thought,  in  the  minds  of  many, 
from  the  created  to  the  Creator  ?  Even  these  globes  come  and 
go,  and  men  remain  indifferent  to  the  mighty  change  ! 

The  wind  had  been  fresh  in  crossing  the  strait,  and  Mark  was 
not  sorry  when  his  pigmy  boat  came  under  the  shadow  of  the 
vast  cliffs  which  formed  the  northern  extremity  of  the  peak. 
When  still  a  mile  distant,  he  thought  he  was  close  on  the  rocks; 
nor  did  he  get  a  perfectly  true  idea  of  the  scale  on  which  this 
rare  mountain  had  been  formed,  until  running  along  at  its  base, 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  its  rocks.  Coming  into  leeward,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  Mark  found  comparatively  smooth  water, 
though  the  unceasing  heaving  and  setting  of  the  ocean  rendered 
it  a  little  hazardous  to  go  nearer  to  the  shore.  For  some  time 
our  explorer  was  fearful  he  should  not  be  able  to  land  at  all ; 
and  he  was  actually  thinking  of  putting  about,  to  make  the  best 
of  his  way  back  while  light  remained  to  do  so,  when  he 
came  off  a  place  that  seemed  fitted  by  art,  rather  than  by 
nature,  to  meet  his  wishes.  A  narrow  opening  appeared  be- 
tween  two  cliffs,  of  about  equal  height,  or  some  hundred  feet 
in  elevation,  one  of  which  extended  further  into  the  ocean  than 
its  neighbor.  The  water  being  quite  smooth  in  this  inlet,  Mark 
ventured  to  enter  it.  the  wind  favoring  his  advance.      On  pass- 


196  the    crater: 

ing  this  gateway,  he  found  himself  nearly  becalmed  in  a  basin 
that  might  be  a  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  which  was  not  only 
surrounded  by  a  sandy  beach,  but  which  had  also  a  sandy  bot- 
tom. The  water  was  several  fathoms  deep,  and  it  was  very  easy 
to  run  the  bows  of  the  boat  anywhere  on  the  beach.  This  was 
done,  the  sails  were  furled,  and  Mark  sprang  ashore,  taking  the 
grapnel  with  him.  Like  Columbus,  he  knelt  on  the  sands,  and 
returned  his  thanks  to  God. 

\<>i  only  did  a  ravine  open  from  this  basin,  winding  its  way 
up  the  entire  ascent,  but  a  copious  stream  of  water  ran  through 
it,  foaming  and  roaring  amid  its  glens.  At  first,  Mark  supposed 
this  was  sea-water,  still  finding  its  way  from  some  lake  on  the 
peak;  but,  on  tasting  it,  he  found  it  was  perfectly  sweet.  Pro- 
vided with  his  gun,  and  carrying  his  pack,  our  young  man  en- 
tered this  ravine,  and,  following  the  course  of  the  brook,  he  at 
once  commenced  an  ascent.  The  rente'  was  difficult  only  in  the 
labor  of  moving  Jip ward,  and  by  no  means  as  difficult  in  that  as 
he  had  expected  to  find  it.  It  was,  nevertheless,  fortunate  that 
this  climbing  was  to  be  done  in  the  shade,  the  sun  seldom  pene- 
trating iuto  those  cool  and  somewhat  damp  crevices  through 
which  the  brook  found  its  way. 

Notwithstanding  his  great  activity,  Mark  Woolston  was  just 
an  hour  in  ascending  to  the  peak.  In  no  place  had  he  found 
the  path  difficult,  though  almost  always  upward  ;  but  he  be- 
lieved he  had  walked  more  than  two  miles  before  he  came  out 
on  level  ground.  When  he  had  got  up  about  three-fourths  of 
the  way,  the  appearance  of  things  around  him  suddenly 
chano-ed.  Aathou^h  the  rock  itself  looked  no  older  than  that 
below,  it  had,  occasionally,  a  covering  that  clearly  could  never 
have  emerged  from  the  sea  within  the  last  few  days.  From 
that  point  every  thing  denoted  an  older  existence  in  the  ah, 
from  which  our  young  man  inferred  that  the  summit  of  Vul- 
can's Peak  had  been  an  island  long  prior  to  the  late  eruption. 
Every  foot  he  advanced  confirmed  this  opinion,  and  the  conclu- 
sion was  that  the  ancient  island  had  lain  too  low  to  be  visible  to 
one  on  the  reef. 


OR,     VULCAN    8      PEAK.  LVi 

An  exclamation  of  delight  escaped  from  our  explorer,  as  he 
suddenly  came  out  on  the  broken  plain  of  the  peak.  It  was 
not  absolutely  covered,  but  was  richly  garnished  with  wood : 
cocoa-nut,  bread-fruits,  and  other  tropical  trees;  and  it  was 
delightfully  verdant  with  young  grasses.  The  latter  were  still 
wet  with  a  recent  shower  that  Mark  had  seen  pass  over  the 
mountain,  while  standing  for  the  island ;  and  on  examining 
them  more  closely,  the  traces  of  the  former  shower  of  volcanic 
ashes  were  yet  to  be  seen.  The  warmth  in  the  sun,  after  so 
sharp  a  walk,  caused  the  young  man  to  plunge  into  the  nearest 
grove,  wdiere  he  had  no  difficulty  in  helping  himself  to  as  many 
cocoa-nuts,  fresh  from  the  trees,  as  a  thousand  men  could  have 
consumed.  Every  one  has  heard  of  the  delicious  beverage  that 
the  milk  of  the  cocoa-nut,  and  of  the  delicious  food  that  its  pulp 
furnishes,  when  each  is  taken  from  the  fruit  before  it  hardens. 
How  these  trees  came  there,  Mark  did  not  know.  The  com- 
mon theory  is  that  birds  convey  the  seeds  from  island  to  island  ; 
though  some  suppose  that  the  earth  contains  the  elements  of  all 
vegetation,  and  that  this  or  that  is  quickened,  as  particular  in- 
fluences are  brought  to  bear  by  means  of  climate  and  other 
agents. 

After  resting  himself  for  an  hour  in  that  delicious  grove, 
Mark  began  to  roam  around  the  plain,  to  get  an  idea  of  its 
beauties  and  extent.  The  former  were  inexhaustible,  offering 
every  variety  of  landscape,  from  the  bold  and  magnificent  to 
the  soft  and  bewitching.  There  were  birds  innumerable,  of 
the  most  brilliant  plumage,  and  some  that  Mark  imagined  must 
be  good  to  eat.  In  particular  did  he  observe  an  immense  Dum- 
ber of  a  very  -mail  sort  that  were  constantly  pecking  at  a  wild 
fig,  of  which  there  was  a  grove  of  considerable  extent.  The 
fig,  itself,  he  did  not  Gild  a-  palatable  as  he  had  hoped,  though 
it  was  refreshing,  and  served  to  vary  the  diet ;  but  the  bird 
struck  him  to  be  of  the  same  kind  as  the  celebrated  reed-bird 
of  the  Philadelphia  market,  which  we  suppose  to  be  much  the 
same  as  the  becca  jichi  of  Italy.  Being  provided  with  mustard- 
Beed  shot,  Mark  loaded  his  piece  properly,  and  killed  at  least 


198  the    crater: 

twenty  of  these  little  creatures  at  one  discharge.  After  clean- 
ing them,  he  struck  a  light  by  means  of  the  pan  and  some  pow- 
der, and  kindled  a  fire.  Here  was  wood,  too,  in  any  quantity, 
an  article  of  which  he  had  feared  in  time  he  might  be  in  want, 
and  which  he  had  already  begun  to  husband,  though  used  only 
in  his  simple  cookery.  Spitting  half  a  dozen  of  the  birds,  they 
were  soon  roasted.  At  the  same  time  he  roasted  a  bunch  of 
plantain,  and,  being  provided  with  pepper  and  salt  in  his  pack, 
a--  well  aa  with  some  pilot  bread,  and  a  pint  bottle  of  rum,  we 
are  almost  ashamed  to  relate  how  our  young  explorer  dined. 
Nothing  was  wanting  to  such  a  meal  but  the  sweets  of  social 
converse.  Mark  fancied,  as  he  sat  enjoying  that  solitary  re- 
past, so  delicious  of  itself,  and  which  was  just  enough  sweetened 
with  toil  to  render  it  every  way  acceptable,  that  he  could  gladly 
give  up  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  for  the  enjoyment  of  a  paradise 
like  that  before  him,  with  Bridget  for  his  Eve. 

The  elevation  of  the  mountain  rendered  the  air  far  more 
grateful  and  cool  than  he  was  accustomed  to  find  it,  at  mid- 
summer, down  on  the  reef,  and  the  young  man  was  in  a  scfrt  of 
gentle  intoxication  while  breathing  it.  Then  it  was  that  he 
most  longed  for  a  companion,  though  little  did  he  imagine  how 
near  he  was  to  some  of  his  species,  at  that  very  moment ;  and 
how  soon  that,  the  dearest  wish  of  his  heart,  was  to  be  met  by 
an  adventure  altogether  so  unexpected  to  him,  that  we  must 
commence  a  new  chapter,  in  order  to  relate  it. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  1(JD 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"The  merry  homes  of  England  I 

Around  their  hearths  by  night, 
"What  gladsome  looks  of  household  lovo 

Meet  in  the  ruddy  light  I 
There  woman's  voice  flows  forth  in  song, 

Or  childhood's  tale  is  told, 
Or  lips  move  tunefully  along 
Some  glorious  page  of  old." 

Mrs.  Hemans. 

The  peak,  or  highest  part  of  the  island,  was  at  its  northern 
extremity,  and  within  two  miles  of  the  grove  in  which  Mai'k 
Woolston  had  eaten  his  dinner.  Unlike  most  of  the  plain,  it 
had  no  woods  whatever,  but,  rising  somewhat  abruptly  to  a  con- 
siderable elevation,  it  was  naked  of  every  thing  but  grass.  On 
the  peak  itself,  there  was  very  little  of  the  last,  even,  and  it  was 
obvious  that  it  must  command  a  full  view  of  the  whole  plain  of 
the  island,  as  well  as  of  the  surrounding  sea,  for  a  wide  distance. 
Resuming  his  pack,  our  young  adventurer,  greatly  refreshed  by 
the  delicious  repast  he  had  just  made,  left  the  pleasant  grove  in 
which  he  had  first  rested,  to  undertake  this  somewhat  sharp 
acclivity.  He  was  not  long  in  effecting  it,  however,  standing 
on  the  highest  point  of  his  new  discovery  within  an  hour  after 
he  had  commenced  its  ascent. 

Here  Mark  found  all  his  expectations  realized  touching  the 
character  of  the  view.  The  whole  plain  of  the  island,  with  the 
exceptions  of  the  covers  made  by  intervening  woods,  lay  spread 
before  him  like  a  map.  All  its  beauties,  its  shades,  its  fruit-. 
and  its  verdant  glades,  were  placed  beneath  his  eye,-  as  if  pur- 
posely to  delight  him  with  their  glories.  A  more  enchanting 
rural  scene  the   young  man  had  never  beheld,  the  island  having 


20r)  the    crater: 

so  much  the  air  of  cultivation  and  art  about  it,  that  he  expected, 
at  each  instant,  to  see  bodies  of  men  running  across  its  surface. 
He  carried  the  best  glass  of  the  Rancocus  with  him,  in  all,  his 
excursions,  not  knouing  at  what  moment  Providence  might 
bring  a  vessel  in  sight,  and  he  had  it  now  slung  from  his  shoul- 
ders. With  this  glass,  therefore,  was  every  part  of  the  visible 
surface  of  the  island  swept,  in  auxious  and  almost  alarmed 
search  for  the  abodes  of  inhabitants.  Nothing  of  this  sort, 
however,  could  be  discovered.  The  island  was  unquestionably 
without  a  human  being,  our  young  man  alone  excepted.  Nor 
could  he  see  any  trace  of  heist,  reptile,  or  of  any  animal  but 
birds.  Creatures  gifted  with  wings  had  been  able  to  reach  that 
little  paradise;  hut  to  all  others,  since  it  first  arose  from  the 
sea,  had  it  probably  been  unapproached,  if  not  unapproach- 
able, until  that  day.  It  appeared  to  be  the  very  elysium  of 
birds ! 

Mark  next  examined  the  peak  itself.  There  wTas  a  vast  de- 
posit of  very  ancient  guano  on  it,  the  washings  of  which  for 
ages,  had,  doubtless,  largely  contributed  to  the  great  fertility  of 
the  plain  below.  A  stream  cf  mere  size  than  one  would  expect 
to  find  on  so  small  an  island,  meandered  through  the  plain,  and 
could  be  traced  to  a  very  copious  spring  that  burst  from  the 
earth  at  the  base  of  the  peak.  Ample  as  this  spring  was,  how- 
ever, it  could  never  of  itself  have  supplied  the  water  of  the 
brook,  or  rivulet,  which  receive. 1  the  contributions  of  some  fifty 
other  springs,  that  reached  it  in  rills,  as  it  wound  it^  way  down 
the  gently  inclined  plane  of  the  island.  At  one  point,  about 
two  leagues  from  the  peak,  there  was  actually  a  little  lake  visi- 
ble, and  Mark  could  even  trace  its  outlet,  winding  its  way  be- 
yond it.  He  supposed  that  the  surplus  tumbled  into  the  sea  in 
a  cascade. 

It  will  readily  be  imagined  that  our  young  man  turned  his 
glass  to  the  northward,  in  search  of  the  group  he  had  left  that 
morning,  with  a  most  lively  interest.  It  was  easy  enough  to  see 
it  from  the  great  elevation  at  which  he  was  now  placed.  There 
it  lay,  stretched  far  and  wide,  extending  nearly  a  degree  of  lati- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  201 

tude,  north  and  south,  and  another  of  longitude,  east  and  west, 
most  truly  resembling  a  vast,  dark-looking  map,  spread  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters  for  his  special  examination.  It  reminded 
Mark  of  the  moon,  with  its  ragged  outlines  of  imaginary  conti- 
nents, as  seen  hy  the  naked  eye,  while  the  island  he  was  now 
on,  bore  a  fancied  resemblance  to  the  same  object  viewed  through 
a  telescope ;  not  that  it  had  the  ldok  of  molten  silver  which  is 
observed  in  the  earth's  satellite,  but  that  it  appeared  gloriously 
bright  and  brilliant.  Mark  could  easily  see  many  of  the  sheets 
of  water  that  were  to  be  found  among  the  rocks,  though  his 
naked  eye  could  distinguish  neither  crater  nor  ship.  By  the 
aid  of  the  glass,  however,  the  first  was  to  be  seen,  though  the 
distance  was  too  great  to  leave  the  poor  deserted  Rancocus  visi- 
ble, even  with  the  assistance  of  magnifying-glasses. 

When  he  had  taken  a  good  look  at  his  old  possessions,  Mark 
made  a  sweep  of  the  horizon  with  the  glass,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain if  any  other  land  were  visible  from  the  great  elevation  on 
which  he  now  stood.  While  arranging  the  focus  of  the  instru- 
ment, an  object  first  met  his  eye  that  caused  his  heart  almost  to 
leap  into  his  mouth.  Land  was  looming  up,  in  the  western 
board,  so  distinctly  as  to  admit  of  no  cavil  about  its  presence. 
It  was  an  island,  mountaiuous,  and  Mark  supposed  it  must  be 
fully  a  hundred  miles  distant.  Still  it  was  land,  and  strange 
land,  and  might  prove  to  be  the  abode  of  human  beings.  The 
glass  told  him  very  little  more  than  his  eye,  though  he  could 
discern  a  mountainous  form  through  it,  and  saw  that  it  was  au 
island  of  no  great  size.  Beyond  this  mountain,  again,  the 
young  man  fancied  that  he  could  detect  the  haze  of  more  land  ; 
but,  if  he  did,  it  was  too  low,  too  distant,  and  too  indistinct, 
to  be  certain  of  it.  It  is  not  easy  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  the 
tumult  <>f  feeling  with  which  Mark  Woolston  beheld  these  un- 
known regions,  though  it  might  best  be  compared  with  the 
emotions  of  the  astronomer  who  discovers  a  new  planet.  It 
would  scarce  exceed  the  truth  to  say  that  he  regarded  that  dim, 
blue  mountain,  which  arose  in  the  midst  of  a  watery  waste, 
with  as  much  of  admiration,  mysterious  awe,  and  gratification 
9* 


202  the    crater: 

united,  as  Hcrschel  may  have  been  supposed  to  feel  when  he 
established  the  character  of  Uranus.  It  was  fully  an  hour  be- 
fore our  hermit  could  turn  his  eyes  in  any  other  direction. 

And  when  our  young  mariner  did  look  aside,  it  was  more 
with  the  intention  of  relieving  eyes  that  had  grown  dim  with 
gazing,  than  of  not  returning  to  the  same  objects  again,  as  soon 
as  restored  to  their  power.  It  was  while  walking  to  and  fro  on 
the  peak,  with  this  intent,  that  a  new  subject  of  interest  caused 
him  almost  to  leap  into  the  air,  and  to  shout  aloud.  He  saw  a 
sail !  For  the  first  time  since  Betts  disappeared  from  his  anx- 
ious looks,  his  eyes  now  surely  rested  on  a  vessel.  What  was 
more,  it  was  quite  near  the  island  he  was  on,  and  seemed  to 
be  beating  up  to  get  under  its  lee.  It  appeared  but  a  speck 
on  the  blue  waves  of  the  ocean,  seen  from  that  height,  it  is 
true;  but  Mark  was  too  well  practised  in  his  craft  to  be  mis- 
taken. It  was  a  vessel,  under  more  or  less  canvas,  how  much 
he  could  not  then  tell,  or  even  see — but  it  was  most  decidedly 
a  vessel.  Mark's  limbs  trembled  so  much  that  he  was  com- 
pelled  to  throw  himself  upon  the  earth  to  find  the  support  he 
wanted.  There  he  lay  several  minutes,  mentally  returning  thanks 
to  God  for  this  unexpected  favor;  and  when  his  strength  revived, 
tlieM-  Mgns  of  gratitude  were  renewed  on  his  knees.  Then  he 
arose,  almost  in  terror  lest  the  vessel  should  have  disappeared, 
or  it  should  turn  out  that  he  was  the  subject  of  a  cruel  illusion. 

There  was  no  error.  There  was  the  little  white  speck,  and 
he  levelled  the  glass  to  get  a  better  look  at  it.  An  exclamation 
now  clearly  broke  from  his  lips,  and  for  a  minute  or  two  the 
young  mau  actually  appeared  to  be  out  of  his  senses.  "  The 
pinnace,"  "the  Neshamony,"  however,  were  words  that  es- 
caped him,  and,  had  there  been  a  witness,  might  have  given  an 
insight  into  this  extraordinary  conduct.  Mark  had,  in  fact, 
ascertained  that  the  sail  beneath  the  peak  was  no  other  than 
the  little  craft  that  had  been  swept  away,  as  already  described, 
with  Betts  in  it.  Fourteen  months  had  elapsed  since  that 
occurrence,  and  here  it  was  again,  seemingly  endeavoring  to 
return  to  the  place  where  it  had  been  launched  !     Mark  adopt- 


OR,     VCICAS'S     PEAK.  203 

ed  perhaps  the  best  expedient  in  his  power  to  attract  attention 
to  himself,  and  to  let  his  presence  be  known.  He  fired  both 
barrels  of  his  fowling-piece,  and  repeated  the  discharges  several 
times,  or  until  a  flag  was  shown  on  board  the  sloop,  which  was 
now  just  beneath  the  cliff,  a  certain  sign  that  he  had  succeeded. 
A  musket  was  also  fired  from  the  vessel. 

Our  young  man  rather  flew  than  ran  to  the  ravine,  down 
which  he  went  at  a  pace  that  several  times  placed  his  neck  in 
jeopardy.  It  was  a  very  different  thing  to  descend  from  as- 
cending such  a  mountain.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
the  half-distracted  hermit  was  in  his  boat,  nearly  crazy  with  the 
apprehension  that  he  might  yet  not  meet  with  his  friend  ;  for, 
that  it  was  Bob  looking  for  the  reef  and  himself,  he  did  not  now 
entertain  the  least  doubt.  The  most  plausible  course  for  him 
to  adopt  was  precisely  that  which  he  followed.  He  pushed  off 
in  the  Bridget,  making  sail  on  the  boat,  and  getting  out  of  the 
cove  in  the  shortest  time  he  could.  On  quitting  his  little  haven, 
and  coming  out  clear  of  all  the  rocks,  another  shout  burst  out 
of  his  very  soul,  when  he  saw  the  Xeshamony,  beyond  all  cavil, 
within  a  hundred  fathoms  of  him,  running  along  the  shore  in 
search  of  a  place  to  land.  That  shout  was  returned,  and  Mark 
and  Bob  recognized  each  other  at  the  next  instant.  As  for  the 
last,  he  just  off  tarpauling,  and  gave  three  hearty  cheers, 
while  the  former  sank  on  a  seat,  literally  unable  to  stand.  The 
sheet  of  the  sail  got  away  from  him,  nor  could  he  be  said  to 
know  what  he  was  about,  until  some  little  time  after  he  was 
in  the  anus  of  his  friend,  and  on  board  the  pinnace. 

It  was  half  an  hour  before  Mark  was  master  of  himself  again. 
At  length  tears  relieved  him;  nor  was  he  ashamed  to  indulge 
in  them,  when  he  saw  his  old  companion  not  only  alive  and 
well,  hut  restored  to  him.  He  perceived  another  in  the  boat;  but, 
as  he  was  of  a  dark  skin,  he  naturally  inferred  this  second  person 
was  a  native  of  some  neighboring  island  where  Bob  had  beeu, 
and  who  had  consented  to  come  with  him  in  this,  his  search  after 
tic  shipwrecked  mariner.    At  length  Bob  began  to  cum 

"Well,  Mr.  Mark,  the  sight  of  you  is  the  pleasantest  pros- 


204  the    crater: 

poet  that  has  met  my  eyes  this  many  a  day,"  exclaimed  the 
honest  fellow.  "  It  was  with  fear  and  trembling  that  I  set  out 
on  the  search,  and  little  did  I  hope  to  fall  in  with  you  so  early 
in  the  cruise." 

"Thank  you,  thank  you,  Bob;  and  God  be  praised  for  this 
great  mercy !  You  have  been  to  some  other  island,  I  see,  by  your 
companion  ;  but  the  miraculous  part  of  all  is,  that  you  should 
find  your  way  back  to  the  reef,  since  you  are  no  navigator." 

"The  reef!  If  this  here  mountain  is  the  reef,  the  coun- 
try has  greatly  altered  since  I  left  it,"  answered  Bob.  Mark 
then  briefly  explained  the  great  change  that  had  actually 
occurred,  and  told  his  own  story  touching  his  boat  and  his 
late  voyages  of  discovery.  Betts  listened  with  the  greatest  at- 
tention, casting  occasional  glances  upward  at  the  immense  mass 
that  had  been  so  suddenly  lifted  out  of  the  sea,  as  well  as  turn- 
ing bis  head  to  regard  the  smoke  of  the  more  distant  volcano. 

"  Well,  this  explains  our  'arthquakc,"  he  answered,  as  soon 
as  Mark  was  cione.  "I  must  have  been  as  good  as  a  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues  from  this  very  spot  at  the  time  you  mention, 
and  we  had  tremblings  there  that  would  scarce  let  a  body  stand 
on  his  feet.  A  ship  came  in  two  days  arterward,  that  must 
have  been  a  hundred  leagues  further  to  the  nor'ard  when  it  hap- 
pened, and  her  people  reported  that  they  thought  heaven  aud 
'arth  was  a  coming  together,  out  there  in  open  water." 

"  It  has  been  a  mighty  earthquake— must  have  been,  to  have 
wrought  these  vast  changes  ;  though  I  had  supposed  that  Prov- 
idence had  confined  a  knowledge  of  its  existence  to  myself. 
But  you  spoke  of  a  ship,  Bob — surely  we  are  not  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  vessels." 

"  Sartain — but  I  may  as  well  tell  you  my  adventures  at  once, 
Mr.  Mark ;  though  I  own  I  should  like  to  land  first,  as  it  is  a 
long  story,  and  take  a  look  at  this  island  that  you  praise  so 
much,  and  taste  them  reed-birds  of  which  you  give  so  good  an 
account.  I'm  Jarsey-born  and  bred,  and  know  what  the  little 
things  be." 

Mark  was  dying  to  hear  Bob's  story,  more  especially  since  he 


OR,      TULCAS'6      PEAK.  205 

understood  a  ship  was  connected  with  it,  but  he  could  not  re- 
fuse his  friend's  demand  for  sweet  water  and  a  dinner.  The 
entrance  of  the  cove  was  quite  near,  and  the  boats  entered  that 
harbor  and  were  secured  ;  after  which  the  three  men  com- 
menced the  ascent,  Mark  picking  up  by  the  way  the  spy-glass, 
fowling-piece,  and  other  articles  that  he  had  dropped  in  the 
haste  of  his  descent.  While  going  up  this  sharp  acclivity,  but 
little  was  said  ;  but,  when  they  reached  the  summit,  or  the 
plain,  rather,  exclamations  of  delight  burst  from  the  mouths  of 
both  Mark's  companions.  To  the  young  man's  great  surprise, 
those  which  came  from  Bob's  dark-skinned  associate  were  in 
English,  as  well  as  those  which  came  from  Bob  himself.  This 
induced  him  to  take  a  good  look  at  the  man,  when  he  discover- 
ed a  face  that  he  knew  ! 

"  How  is  this,  Bob  ?"  cried  Mark,  almost  gasping  for  breath ; 
"  whom  have  you  here  ?     Is  not  this  Socrates  ?" 

"Ay,  ay,  sir;  that's  Soc ;  and  Dido,  his  wife,  is  within  a 
hundred  miles  of  you." 

This  answer,  simple  as  it  was,  nearly  overcame  our  young 
man  again.  Socrates  and  Dido  had  been  the  slaves  of  Bridget, 
when  he  left  home  ;  a  part  of  the  estate  she  had  received  from 
her  grandmother.  They  dwelt  in  the  house  with  her,  and 
uniformly  called  her  mistress.  Mark  knew  them  both  very 
well,  as  a  matter  of  course ;  and  Dido,  with  the  archness  of  a 
favorite  domestic,  was  often  in  the  habit  of  calling  him  her 
"  young  master."  A  flood  of  expectations,  conjectures,  and 
apprehensions  came  over  our  hero,  and  he  refrained  from  putting 
any  questions  immediately,  out  of  pure  astonishment.  He  was 
almost  afraid,  indeed,  to  ask  any. 

Nearly  unconscious  of  what  he  was  about,  he  led  the  wav  to 
the  grove  where  he  had  dined  two  or  three  hours  before,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  reed-birds  were  suspended  from  the  branch 
of  a  tree.  The  embers  of  the  fire  were  ready,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  Socrates  handed  Betts  his  dinner. 

Bob  ate  and  drank  heartily.  He  loved  a  tin-pot  of  rum-and- 
wuter,  or  grog,  as  it  used  to  be  called — though  even  the  word 


206  the    crater: 

is  getting  to  be  obsolete  in  these  temperance  times — and  he 
liked  good  eating.  It  was  not  epicurism,  however,  or  a  love 
of  the  stomach,  that  induced  him  to  defer  his  explanations  on 
the  present  occasion.  He  saw  that  Mark  must  hear  what  he 
had  to  relate  gradually,  and  was  not  sorry  that  the  recognition 
of  the  negro  had  prepared  him  to  expect  something  wonderful. 
Wonderful  it  was,  indeed ;  and  at  last  Betts,  having  finished 
his  dinner,  and  given  half  a  dozen  preparatory  hints,  in  order  to 
lessen  the  intensity  of  his  young  friend's  feelings,  yielded  to  an 
appeal  from  the  other's  eyes,  and  commenced  his  narrative. 
Lob  told  his  story,  as  a  matter  of  course,  with  a  great  deal  of 
circumlocution,  and  in  his  own  language.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  unnecessary  prolixity  in  it,  and  some  irrelative  digres- 
simi>  touching  currents,  and  the  trades,  and  the  weather;  but 
on  the  whole,  it  was  given  intelligibly,  and  with  sufficient 
brevity  for  one  who  devoured  every  syllable  he  uttered.  The 
reader,  however,  would  most  probably  prefer  to  hear  an  abridge- 
ment of  the  tale  in  our  own  words. 

When  Robert  Betts  was  driven  off  the  reef,  by  the  hurricane 
of  the  preceding  year,  he  had  no  choice  but  to  let  the  Nesha- 
mony  drive  to  leeward  with  him.  As  soon  as  he  could,  he  got 
the  pinnace  before  the  wind,  and  whenever  he  saw  broken  water 
ahead,  he  endeavored  to  steer  clear  of  it.  This  he  sometimes 
succeeded  in  effecting ;  while  at  others  he  passed  through  it, 
or  over  it,  at  the  mercy  of  the  tempest.  Fortunately  the  wind 
had  piled  up  the  element  in  such  a  way  as  to  carry  the  craft 
clear  of  the  rocks,  and  in  three  hours  after  the  Ncshamony  was 
lifted  out  of  her  cradle,  she  was  in  the  open  ocean,  to  leeward 
of  all  the  dangers.  It  blew  too  hard,  however,  to  make  sail  on 
her,  and  Bob  was  obliged  to  scud  until  the  gale  broke.  Then, 
indeed,  he  passed  a  week  in  endeavoring  to  beat  back  and  rejoin 
his  friend,  but  without  success,  "  losing  all  he  made  in  the  day, 
while  asleep  at  night."  Such,  at  least,  was  Bob's  account  of 
his  failure  to  find  the  reef  again ;  though  Mark  thought  it  prob- 
able that  he  was  a  little  out  in  his  reckoning,  and  did  not  look 
in  exactly  the  right  place  for  it. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  201 

At  the  end  of  this  week,  high  land  was  made  to  leeward,  and 
Betts  ran  down  for  it,  in  the  hope  of  finding  inhabitants.  In 
this  last  expectation,  however,  he  did  not  succeed.  It  was  a 
volcanic  mountain,  of  a  good  many  resources,  and  of  a  charac- 
ter not  unlike  that  of  Vulcan's  Peak,  but  entirely  unpeopled. 
He  named  it  after  his  old  ship,  and  passed  several  days  on  it. 
On  describing  its  appearance,  and  its  bearings  from  the  place 
where  they  then  were,  Mark  had  no  doubt  it  was  the  island 
that  was  visible  from  the  peak  near  them,  and  at  which  he  had 
been  gazing  that  very  afternoon,  for  fully  an  hour,  with  longing 
eyes.  On  describing  its  form  to  Bob,  the  latter  coincided  in 
this  opinion,  which  was,  in  fact,  the  true  one. 

From  the  highest  point  of  Rancocus  Island,  land  was  to  be 
seen  to  the  northward  and  westward,  and  Bob  now  determined 
to  make  the  best  of  his  way  in  that  direction,  in  the  hope  of 
Palling  in  with  some  vessel  after  sandal-wood  or  beche-le-mar. 
He  fell  in  with  a  group  of  low  islands,  of  a  coral  formation, 
about  a  hundred  leagues  from  his  volcanic  mountain,  and  on 
them  he  found  inhabitants.  These  people  were  accustomed  to 
see  white  men,  and  turned  out  to  be  exceedingly  mild  and 
just.  It  is  probable  that  they  connected  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  a  vessel  like  the  Neshamony,  having  but  one  man  in  it, 
with  some  miraculous  interposition  of  their  gods,  for  they  paid 
Bob  the  highest  honors,  and  when  he  landed,  solemnly  tabooed 
his  sloop.  Bob  was  a  long-headed  fellow  in  the  main,  and  was 
not  slow  to  perceive  the  advantage  of  such  a  ceremony,  and 
encouraged  it.  He  also  formed  a  great  intimacy  with  the 
chief,  exchanging  names  and  rubbing  noses  with  him.  This 
chief  was  styled  Betto,  after  the  exchange,  and  Bob  was  called 
Ooroony  by  the  natives.  Ooroony  stayed  a  month  with  Betto, 
when  he  undertook  a  voyage  with  him  in  a  large  canoe,  to  an- 
other group,  that  was  distant  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  still 
farther  to  the  northward,  and  where  Bob  was  told  he  should 
rind  a  ship.  This  account  proved  to  be  true,  the  ship  turning 
out  to  be  a  Spaniard,  from  South  America,  engaged  in  the 
pearl  fishery,  and  on  the   eve  of  sailing  for  her  port.     From 


208  the    crater: 

some  misunderstanding  with  the  Spanish  captain,  that  Bob 
never  comprehended,  and  of  course  could  not  explain,  and 
which  he  did  not  attempt  to  explain,  Betto  left  the  group  in 
haste,  and  without  taking  leave  of  his  new  friend,  though  he 
sent  him  a  message  of  apology,  one-half  of  which  was  lost  on 
Bob,  in  consequence  of  not  understanding  the  language.  The 
result  was,  however,  to  satisfy  the  latter  that  his  friend  was 
quite  as  sorry  to  abandon  him,  as  he  was  glad  to  get  away  from 
the  Spanish  captain. 

This  desertion  left  Bctts  no  choice  between  remaining  on  the 
pearl  island,  or  of  Bailing  in  the  brig,  which  went  to  sea  next 
day.  lie  decided  to  do  the  last.  In  due  time  he  was  landed 
at  Panama,  whence  he  made  his  way  across  the  isthmus,  actual- 
ly reaching  Philadelphia  in  less  than  five  months  after  he  was 
driven  off  the  reef.  In  all  this  he  was  much  favored  by  circum- 
stances ;  though  an  old  salt,  like  Bob,  will  usually  make  his  way 
where  a  landsman  would  be  brought  up. 

The  owners  of  the  Kancocus  gave  up  their  ship,  as  soon  as 
Betts  had  told  his  story,  manifesting  no  disposition  to  send 
good  money  after  bad.  They  looked  to  the  underwriters,  and 
got  Bob  to  make  oath  to  the  loss  of  the  vessel ;  which  said 
oath,  by  the  way,  was  the  ground-work  of  a  law-suit  that  lasted 
Friend  Abraham  White  as  long  as  he  lived.  Bob  next  sought 
Bridget  with  his  tale.  The  young  wife  received  the  poor  fellow 
with  floods  of  tears,  and  the  most  eager  attention  to  his  story. 
as,  indeed,  did  our  hero's  sister  Anne.  It  would  seem  that 
Betts'  arrival  was  most  opportune.  In  consequence  of  the  non- 
arrival  of  the  ship,  which  was  then  past  due  two  or  three 
months,  Doctor  Yardley  had  endeavored  to  persuade  his  daugh- 
ter that  she  was  a  widow,  if,  indeed,  as  he  had  of  late  been 
somewhat  disposed  to  maintain,  she  had  ever  been  legally  mar- 
ried at  all.  The  truth  was,  that  the  medical  war  in  Bristol  had 
broken  out  afresh,  in  consequence  of  certain  cases  that  had  been 
transferred  to  that  village,  during  one  of  the  fever-seasons  in 
Philadelphia.  Greater  cleanliness,  and  the  free  use  of  fresh 
water,  appear  to  have  now  arrested  the  course  of  this  formid- 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  209 

able  disease,  in  the  northern  cities  of  America  ;  but,  in  that 
day,  it  was  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  Theories  prevailed 
among  the  doctors  concerning  it,  which  were  bitterly  antago- 
nistical  to  each  other ;  and  Doctor  Woolston  headed  one  party 
in  Bucks,  while  Doctor  Yardley  headed  another.  Which  was 
right,  or  whether  either  was  right,  is  more  than  we  shall  pre- 
tend to  say,  though  we  think  it  probable  that  both  were  wrong. 
Anne  Woolston  had  been  married  to  a  young  physician  but  a 
short  time,  when  this  new  outbreak  concerning  yellow  fever  oc- 
curred. Her  husband,  whose  name  was  Heaton,  unfortunately 
took  the  side  of  this  grave  question  that  was  opposed  to  his 
father-in-law,  for  a  reason  no  better  than  that  he  believed  in 
the  truth  of  the  opposing  theory,  and  this  occasioned  another 
breach.  Doctor  Yardley  could  not,  and  did  not  wholly  agree 
with  Doctor  Heaton,  because  the  latter  was  Doctor  Woolston'a 
son-in-law,  and  he  altered  his  theory  a  little  to  create  a  respect- 
able point  of  disagreement ;  while  Doctor  Woolston  could  not 
pardon  a  disaffection  that  took  place,  as  it  might  be,  in  the 
height  of  a  war.     About  this  time,  too,  Mrs.  Yardley  died. 

All  these  occurrences,  united  to  the  protracted  absence  of 
Mark,  made  Bridget  and  Anne  extremely  unhappy.  To  increase 
this  unhappiness,  Doctor  Yardley  took  it  into  his  head  to  dis- 
pute the  legality  of  a  marriage  that  had  been  solemnized  on 
board  a  ship.  This  was  an  entirely  new  legal  crotchet,  but  the 
federal  government  was  then  young,  and  jurisdictions  had  not 
been  determined  as  clearly  as  has  since  been  the  case.  Had  it 
been  the  fortune  of  Doctor  Yardley  to  live  in  these  later  times, 
he  would  not  have  given  himself  the  trouble  to  put  violent  con- 
structions on  any  thing ;  but,  getting  a  few  female  friends  to 
go  before  the  necessary  judge,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  anything 
would  be  granted  to  their  requests,  very  much  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Failing  of  this,  moreover,  there  is  always  the  resource 
of  the  legislature,  which  will  usually  pass  a  law  taking  away  a 
man's  wife,  or  his  children,  and  sometimes  his  estate,  if  a  pretty 
pathetic  appeal  can  be  made  to  it,  in  the  way  of  gossip.  Y\  e 
have  certainly  made  great  progress  in  this  country,  within  the 


210  the    crater: 

last  twenty  years ;  but  whether  it  has  been  in  a  direction  toward 
the  summit  of  human  perfection,  or  one  downward  toward  the 
destruction  of  all  principles,  the  next  generation  will  prob- 
ably be  better  able  to  say  than  this.  Even  the  government  is 
getting  to  be  gossipian. 

In  the  case  of  Bridget,  however,  public  sympathy  was  with 
her,  as  it  always  will  be  with  a  pretty  woman.  Nevertheless, 
her  father  had  great  influence  in  Bucks  county,  more  especially 
with  the  federalists,  and  the  anti-depletionists,  and  it  was  in  his 
power  to  give  his  daughter  great  uneasiness,  if  not  absolutely  to 
divorce  her.  So  violent  did  he  become,  that  he  actually  caused 
proceedings  to  be  commenced  in  Bridget's  name,  to  effect  a 
legal  separation,  taking  the  grounds  that  the  marriage  had  never 
been  consummated,  that  the  ceremony  had  occurred  on  board 
a.  -hip,  that  the  wife  was  of  tender  years,  and  lastly,  that  she 
was  an  heiress.  Some  persons  thought  the  doctors  proceedings 
were  instigated  by  the  circumstance  that  another  relative  had 
just  died,  and  left  Bridget  five  thousand  dollars,  which  were  to 
be  paid  to  her  the  day  she  was  eighteen,  the  period  of  a  female's 
reaching  her  majority,  according  to  popular  notions.  The  pos- 
session of  this  money,  which  Bridget  received  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  friend  in  town,  almost  made;  her  father  frantic  for 
the  divorce,  or  a  decree  against  the  marriage,  he  contending 
there  was  no  marriage,  and  that  a  divorce  was  unnecessary. 
The  young  wife  had  not  abandoned  the  hope  of  seeing  her  hus- 
band return,  all  this  time,  although  uneasiness  concerning  the 
fate  of  the  ship  was  extending  from  her  owners  into  the  fami- 
lies of  those  who  had  sailed  in  her.  She  wished  to  meet  Mark 
with  a  sum  of  money  that  would  enable  him,  at  once,  to  com- 
mence life  respectably,  and  place  him  above  the  necessity  of 
following  the  seas. 

Betts  reached  Bristol  the  very  day  that  a  decision  was  made, 
on  a  preliminary  point,  in  the  case  of  Yardley  versus  Woolston, 
that  greatly  encouraged  the  father  in  his  hopes  of  final  success, 
and  as  greatly  terrified  his  daughter.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  mere 
question  of  practice,  and  had  no  real  connection  with  the  merits 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  211 

of  the  matter  at  issue;  but  it  frightened  Bridget  and  her  friend 
Anue  enormously.  In  point  of  fact,  there  was  not  the  smallest 
danger  of  the  marriage  being  declared  void,  should  any  one  op- 
pose the  decision ;  but  this  was  more  than  any  one  of  the  par- 
ties then  knew,  and  Doctor  Yardley  seemed  so  much  in  earnest, 
that  Bridget  and  Anne  got  into,  the  most  serious  state  of  alarm 
on  the  subject.  To  increase  their  distress,  a  suitor  for  the  hand 
of  the  former  appeared  in  the  person  of  a  student  of  medicine, 
of  very  fair  expectations,  and  who  supported  every  one  of  Doc- 
tor Yardley's  theories,  in  all  their  niceties  and  distinctions ;  and 
what  is  more,  would  have  supported  them  had  they  been  ten 
times  as  untenable  as  they  actually  were,  in  reason. 

Had  the  situation  of  Doctor  Heaton  been  more  pleasant  than 
it  was,  it  is  probable  that  the  step  taken  by  himself,  his  wife, 
and  Bridget,  would  never  have  been  thought  of.  But  it  was 
highly  unpleasant.  He  was  poor,  and  dependent  altogether  on 
his  practice  for  a  support.  Now,  it  was  in  Doctor  Woolston's 
p  er  to  be  of  great  service  to  the  young  couple,  by  introduc- 
ing the  son-in-law  to  his  own  patients,  but  this  he  could  not 
think  of  doing  with  a  depletionist ;  and  John,  as  Anne  affec- 
tionately styled  her  husband,  was  left  to  starve  on  his  system  of 
depletion. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Bob  appeared  in  Bristol, 
to  announce  to  the  young  wife  not  only  the  existence  but  the 
deserted  and  lone  condition  of  her  husband.  The  honest  fel- 
low knew  there  was  something  clandestine  about  the  marriage, 
aud  he  used  proper  precautions  not  to  betray  his  presence  to 
the  wrong  persons.  By  means  of  a  little  management  he  saw 
Bridget  privately,  and  told  his  story.  As  Bob  had  been  pres- 
ent at  the  wedding,  and  was  known  to  stand  high  in  Mark's 
favor,  he  was  believed,  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  ques- 
tioned  in  a  thousand  ways,  until  the  poor  fellow  had  not  really 
another  syllable  to  communicate. 

The  sisters  shed  floods  of  tears  at  the  thought  of  poor  Mark's 
situation.  For  several  days  they  did  little  besides  weep  and 
pray.     Then  Bridget  suddenly  dried  her  tears,  and  announced 


212  the    crater: 

an  intention  to  go  in  person  to  the  rescue  of  her  husband. 
Not  only  was  she  determined  <>n  this,  hut,  as  a  means  of  giving 
a  death-blow  to  all  expectations  of  a  separation,  and  to  the 
hopes  of  her  new  suitor,  she  was  resolved  to  go  in  a  way  that 
should  enable  her  to  remain  on  the  reef  with  Mark,  and,  if  nec- 
essary, to  pass  the  remainder  of  her  days  there.  Bob  had 
given  a  very  glowing  description  of  the  charms  of  the  residence, 
as  well  as  of  the  climate,  the  latter  quite  justly,  and  declared 
his  readiness  to  accompany  this  faithful  wife  in  the  pursuit  of 
her  lost  partner.  The  whole  affair  was  communicated  to  Doc- 
tor and  .Mrs.  lleaton,  who  not  only  came  into  the  scheme,  but 
enlisted  in  its  execution  in  person.  The  idea  pleased  the  former 
in  particular,  who  had  a  love  of  adventure,  and  a  desire  to  see 
other  lands  ;  while  Anne  was  as  ready  to  follow  her  husband  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  as  Bridget  was  to  go  to  the  same  place 
in  quest  of  Mark.  In  a  word,  the  whole  project  was  deliberately 
framed,  and  ingeniously  carried  out. 

Doctor  Heaton  had  a  brother,  a  resident  of  New  York,  and 
often  visited  him.  Bridget  was  permitted  to  accompany  Anne 
to  that  place,  wdiither  her  money  was  transferred  to  her.  A 
vessel  was  found  that  was  about  to  sail  for  the  north-west  coast, 
and  passages  were  privately  engaged.  A  great  many  useful 
necessaries  were  laid  in,  and  at  the  proper  time,  letters  of  leave- 
taking  were  sent  to  Bristol,  and  the  whole  party  sailed.  Pre- 
viously to  the  embarkation,  Bob  appeared  to  accompany  the 
adventurers.  He  was  attended  by  Socrates,  and  Dido,  and 
Juno,  who  had  stolen  away  by  order  of  their  young  mistress, 
as  well  as  by  a  certain  Friend  Martha  Waters,  who  had  stood 
up  in  "  meeting"  with  Friend  Robert  Betts,  and  had  become 
"bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh;"  and  her  maiden  sis- 
ter, Joan  Waters,  who  was  to  share  their  fortunes.  In  a  word, 
Bob  had  brought  an  early  attachment  to  the  test  of  matrimony. 

So  well  had  the  necessary  combinations  been  made,  that  the 
ship  sailed  with  our  adventurers,  nine  in  number,  without  meet- 
ing with  the  slightest  obstacle.  Once  at  sea,  of  course  nothing 
but  that  caused  by  the  elements  was  to  be  anticipated.     Cape 


Or,    vulcan's    *eak.  213 

Horn  was  doubled  in  due  time,  and  Doctor  Heaton,  witli  all 
under  his  card,  was  landed  at  Panama,  just  five  months,  to  a 
day.  after  leaving  New  York.  Here  passages  were  taken  in 
the  same  brig  that  Bob  had  returned  in,  which  was  again  bound 
out,  on  a  pearl- fishing  voyage.  Previously  to  quitting  Panama, 
however,  a  recruit  was  engaged  in  the  person  of  a  young  Amer- 
ican shipwright,  of  the  name  of  Bigelow,  who  had  run  from  his 
ship  a  twelvemonth  before,  to  marry  a  Spanish  girl,  and  who 
had  become  heartily  tired  of  his  life  in  Panama.  He  and  his 
wife  and  child  joined  the  party,  engaging  to  serve  the  Heatons, 
for  a  stipulated  sum,  for  the  term  of  two  years. 

The  voyage  from  Panama  to  the  pearl  islands  was  a  long  one, 
but  far  from  unpleasant.  Sixty  days  after  leaving  port  the  ad- 
venturers were  safely  landed,  with  all  their  effects.  These 
included  two  cows,  with  a  young  bull,  two  yearling  colts,  sev- 
eral goats  obtained  in  South  America,  and  various  implements 
of  husbandry  that  it  had  not  entered  into  the  views  of  Friend 
Abraham  White  to  send  to  even  the  people  of  Feejee.  "With 
the  natives  of  the  pearl  island,  Bob,  already  known  to  them 
and  a  favorite,  had  no  difficulty  in  negotiating.  He  had  brought 
them  suitable  and  ample  presents,  and  soon  effected  an  arrange- 
ment, by  which  they  agreed  to  transport  him  and  all  his  stores, 
the  animals  included,  to  Betto's  islands,  a  distance  of  fully  three 
hundred  miles.  The  horses  and  cows  were  taken  on  a  species 
of  catamaran,  or  large  raft,  that  is  much  used  in  those  mild  seas, 
and  which  sail  reasonably  well  a  little  off  the  wind,  and  not 
very  badly  on.  At  Betto's  islands  a  new  bargain  was  struck, 
and  the  whole  party  proceeded  to  Rancocus  Island,  Bob  mak- 
ing his  land-fall  without  any  difficulty,  from  having  observed 
the  course  steered  in  coming  from  it. 

At  Betto's  group,  however,  Bob  found  the  Neshamony,  cov- 
ered with  mats,  and  tabooed,  precisely  as  he  had  left  her,  to  a 
rope-yarn.  Not  a  human  hand  had  touched  any  thing  belong- 
ing to  the  boat,  or  a  human  foot  approached  it,  during  the 
whole  time  of  his  absence.  Ooroony,  or  Betto,  was  rewarded 
for  his  fidelity  by  the  present  of  a  musket  and  some  ainmu- 


214  the    crater: 

nition — articles  that  were  really  of  the  last  importance  to  his 
dignity  and  power.  They  were  as  good  as  a  standing  army  to 
him,  actually  deciding  summarily  a  point  of  disputed  authority, 
that  had  long  been  in  controversy  between  himself  and  another 
chief,  in  his  favor.  The  voyage  between  Betto's  group  and 
Rancocus  Island  was  made  in  the  Neshamony,  so  far  as  the  hu- 
man portion  of  the  freight  was  concerned.  The  catamarans  and 
canoes,  however,  came  on  with  the  other  animals,  and  all  the 
utensils  and  stores. 

The  appearance  of  Rancocus  Island  created  quite  as  much 
astonishment  among  the  native  mariners,  as  had  that  of  the 
horses,  cows,  etc.  Until  they  saw  it,  not  one  of  them  had  any 
notion  of  its  existence,  or  of  a  mountain  at  all.  They  dwelt, 
themselves,  on  low  coral  islands,  and  quite  beyond  the  volcanic 
formation,  and  a  hill  was  a  thing  scarcely  known  to  them.  At 
this  island  Seaton  and  Betts  deemed  it  prudent  to  dismiss  their 
attendants,  not  wishing  them  to  know  any  thing  of  the  reef,  as 
they  were  not  sure  what  sort  of  neighbors  they  might  prove  on 
a  longer  acquaintance.  The  mountain,  however,  possessed  so 
many  advantages  over  the  reef— as  the  latter  was  when  Bob  left 
it — that  the  honest  fellow  frankly  admitted  its  general  superiori- 
ty, and  suggested  the  possibility  of  its  becoming  their  perma- 
nent residence.  In  some  respects,  it  was  not  equal  to  the  reef, 
as  a  residence,  however ;  the  tishing  in  particular  turning  out  to 
be  infinitely  inferior.  But  it  had  trees  and  fruits,  being  very 
much  of  the  same  character  as  Vulcan's  Peak,  in  this  respect. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  no  comparison  between  the  two  islands 
as  places  of  residence,  the  last  having  infinitely  the  most  advan- 
tages. It  was  larger,  had  more  and  better  fruits,  better  water, 
and  richer  grasses.  It  had  also  a  more  even  surface,  and  a 
more  accessible  plain.  Rancocus  Island  was  higher,  and  more 
broken,  and,  while  it  might  be  a  pleasanter  place  of  residence 
than  the  reef  during  the  warm  months,  it  never  could  be  a  place 
as  pleasant  as  the  plain  of  the  peak. 

Bob  found  it  necessary  to  leave  his  friends,  and  most  of  his 
stores,  at  Rancocus  Island  ;  Mrs.  Heaton  becoming  a  mother  two 


or,     vr  loan's    peak.  215 

days  after  their  arrival  at  it,  and  the  cows  both  increasing  t  li*ii 
families  in  the  course  of  the  same  week.  It  was,  moreover,  im- 
possible to  transport  everybody  and  every  thing  in  the  Nesharao- 
ny,  at  the  same  time.  As  Doctor  Heaton  would  not  leave  Anne 
at  such  a  moment,  and  Bridget  was  of  the  same  way  of  thinking, 
it  was  thought  best  to  improve  the  time  by  sending  out  Betts 
to  explore.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  was  uncertain  where 
the  reef  was  to  be  found  exactl}-,  though  convinced  it  was  to 
windward,  and  within  a  hundred  miles  of  him.  While  roaming 
over  the  rocks  of  Rancocus,  however,  Vulcan's  Peak  had  been 
seen,  as  much  to  Bob's  surprise  as  to  his  delight.  To  his  sur- 
prise, inasmuch  as  he  had  no  notion  of  the  great  physical  change 
that  had  recently  been  wrought  by  the  earthquake,  yet  could 
scarce  ~e.:eve  he  had  overlooked  such  an  object  in  his  former 
examinations  ;  and  to  his  delight,  because  he  was  now  satisfied 
that  the  reef  must  lie  to  the  northward  of  that  strange  moun- 
tain, and  a  long  distance  from  it.  because  no  such  peak  had 
been  visible  from  the  former  when  he  left  it.  It  was  a  good 
place  to  steer  for,  nevertheless,  on  this  new  voyage,  since  it  car- 
ried him  a  hundred  miles  to  windward ;  and  when  Bob,  with 
Socrates  for  a  companion,  left  Rancocus  to  look  for  the  reef,  he 
steered  as  near  the  course  for  the  peak  as  the  wind  would  per- 
mit. He  had  made  the  island  from  the  boat,  after  a  run  of  ten 
hours;  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  made  the  crater  of  the  active 
volcano.  For  the  latter  he  stood  that  night,  actually  going 
within  a  mile  of  it ;  and  next  morning  he  altered  his  course, 
and  beat  up  for  the  strange  island.  When  Mark  first  discover- 
ad  him,  he  had  nearly  made  the  circuit  of  Vulcan's  Peak,  in  a 
vain  endeavor  to  land,  and  he  would  actually  have  gone  on  his 
way,  had  it  not  beei;  for  the  firing  of  the  fowling-piece,  the  re- 
port of  which  he  heard,  and  the  smoke  of  which  he  saw. 


216  the  crater: 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"Compell  the  hawke  to  sit,  that  is  unmanned, 
Or  make  the  hound,  untaught,  to  draw  t lie  deere, 
Or  bring  the  free,  against  his  will,  in  hand, 
Or  move  the  sad,  a  pleasant  Gale  to  heere, 
Tour  time  is  lost,  and  yon  n<>  whit  the  neere! 

Bo  love  ne  learnes,  of  force  the  heart  to  knit; 

She  serves  bat  those,  that  feels  sweet  fancie's  fit" 

CUUROUTAKD. 

We  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  with  what  feelings  Mark 
heard  these  facts.  Bridget,  for  whom  his  tenderness  was  un- 
abated ;  Bridget,  who  had  been  the  subject  of  so  many  of  his 
thoughts  since  his  shipwreck,  had  shown  herself  worthy  to  be 
thus  loved,  and  was  now  on  an  island  that  he  might  easily 
reach  in  a  run  of  a  few  hours !  The  young  man  retired  further 
within  the  grove,  leaving  Bob  and  Socrates  behind,  and  endeav- 
ored to  regain  his  composure  by  himself.  Before  rejoining 
his  companions,  he  knelt  and  returned  thanks  to  God  fortius 
instance  of  his  great  kindness.  It  was  a  long  time,  notwith- 
standing, before  he  could  become  accustomed  to  the  idea  of 
having  associates,  at  all.  Time  and  again,  within  the  next 
month  or  two,  did  he  dream  that  all  this  fancied  happiness  was 
only  a  dream,  and  awoke  under  a  sense  of  having  been  the 
subject  of  an  agreeable  illusion.  It  took  months  perfectly  to 
restore  the  tone  of  his  mind  in  this  respect,  and  to  bring  it 
back  into  the  placid  current  of  habitual  happiness.  The  deep 
sense  of  gratitude  to  God  he  never  lost :  but  the  recollection 
of  what  he  had  suffered,  and  from  what  he  had  been  relieved 
by  the  Divine  mercy,  remained  indelibly  impressed  on  his 
heart,  and  influenced  his  future  life  to  a  degree  that  increased 
the  favor  a  thousand-fold. 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  217 

The  mode  of  proceeding  was  next  discussed,  in  the  course 
of  doing  which  Mark  communicated  to  Bob,  somewhat  in  de- 
tail, the  circumstance  of  the  recent  convulsion,  and  the  changes 
which  it  had  produced.  After  talking  the  matter  over,  both 
agreed  it  would  be  every  way  desirable  to  bring  the  whole 
party,  and  as  much  of  the  property  as  could  be  easily  moved, 
up  to  windward  at  once.  Now,  that  the  natives  knew  of  the 
existence  of  Rancocus  Island,  their  visits  might  be  often  ex- 
pected, and  nothing  was  more  uncertain  than  their  policy  and 
friendship.  Once  on  Rancocus  Island,  the  peak  could  be  seen, 
and  from  the  peak  the  reef  was  visible.  In  this  way,  then, 
there  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  existence  of  their  lit- 
tle colony  would  soon  become  known,  and  the  property  they 
possessed  the  object  of  cupidity  and  violence.  Against  such 
consequences  it  would  be  necessary  to  guarcl  with  the  strictest 
care,  and  the  first  step  should  be  to  get  every  thing  of  value  up 
to  windward,  with  the  least  possible  delay.  The  natives  often 
went  a  long  distance,  in  their  canoes  and  on  their  rafts,  with  the 
wind  abeam,  but  it  was  not  often  they  undertook  to  go  directly 
to  windward.  Then  the  activity  of  the  volcano  might  be 
counted  on  as  something  in  favor  of  the  colonists,  since  those 
uninstructed  children  of  nature  would  be  almost  certain  to  set 
the  phenomenon  down  to  the  credit  of  some  god,  or  some 
demon,  neither  of  whom  would  be  likely  to  permit  his  special 
domains  to  be  trespassed  on  with  impunity. 

While  Mark  and  Bob  were  talking  these  matters  over,  Socra- 
tes had  been  shooting  and  cleaning  a  few  dozen  more  of  taa 
reed-birds.  This  provision  of  the  delicacy  was  made,  because 
Betts  affirmed  no  such  delicious  little  creature  was  to  be  met 
with  on  Rancocus,  though  they  were  to  be  found  on  Vulcan's 
Peak  literally  in  tens  of  thousands.  This  difference  could  be 
accounted  for  in  no  other  way,  than  by  supposing  that  some 
of  the  birds  had  originally  found  their  way  to  the  latter, 
favored  by  accidental  circumstances,  driven  by  a  hurricane, 
transported  on  sea-weed,  or  attending  the  drift  of  some  plants, 
and  that  the  same,  or  similar  circumstances,  had  never  con- 
10 


218  the    crater: 

tributed  to  carry  them  the  additional  hundred   miles  to  lee- 
ward. 

It  was  near  sunset  when  the  Neshamony  left  Snug  Cove,  as 
Mark  had  named  his  little  haven  at  the  foot  of  the  ravine, 
which,  by  the  way,  he  called  the  Stairs,  and  put  to  sea,  on  her 
way  to  Rancocus  Island.  The  bearings  of  the  last  had  been 
accurately  taken,  and  our  mariners  were  just  as  able  to  run  by 
night  as  by  day.  It  may  as  well  be  said  here,  moreover,  that 
the  black  was  a  capital  boatman,  and  a  good  fresh-water  sailor 
in  general,  a  proficiency  that  he  had  acquired  in  consequence 
of  having  been  born  and  brought  up  on  the  banks  of  the  Dela- 
ware. But  it  would  have  been  very  possible  to  run  from  one 
of  these  islands  to  the  other,  by  observing  the  direction  of  the 
wind  alone,  since  it  M<\v  very  steadily  in  the  same  quarter,  and 
changes  in  the  course  wen-  always  to  be  noted  by  changes  in 
the  violence  or  freshness  of  the  breeze.  In  that  quarter  of  the 
ocean  the  trades  blew  with  very  little  variation  from  the  south- 
east, though  in  general  the  Pacific  trades  are  from  the  south- 
west. 

Mark  was  delighted  with  the  performances  of  the  Neshamony. 
Bob  gave  a  good  account  of  her  qualities,  and  said  he  should 
not  hesitate  to  make  sail  in  her  for  either  of  the  continents,  in 
a  case  of  necessity.  Accustomed,  as  he  had  been  of  late,  to  the 
little  Bridget,  the  pinnace  appeared  a  considerable  craft  to 
Mark,  and  he  greatly  exulted  in  this  acquisition.  No  seaman 
could  hesitate  about  passing  from  the  reef  to  the  islands,  at  any 
time  when  it  did  not  absolutely  blow  a  gale,  in  a  boat  of  this 
size  and  of  such  qualities  ;  and  even  in  a  gale,  it  might  be  pos- 
sible to  make  pretty  good  weather  of  it.  Away  she  now  went, 
leaving  the  Bridget  moored  in  Snug  Cove,  to  await  their  return. ' 
Of  course,  Mark  and  Bob  had  much  discourse,  while  running 
down  before  the  wind  that  night,  in  which  each  communicated 
to  the  other  many  things  that  still  remained  to  be  said.  Mark 
was  never  tired  of  asking  questions  about  Bridget ;  her  looks, 
her  smiles,  her  tears,  her  hopes,  her  fears,  her  health,  her  spirits, 
and  her  resolution,  being  themes  of  which  he  never  got  weary. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  219 

A  watch  was  set,  nevertheless,  and  each  person  in  the  pinnace 
had  his  turn  of  sleep,  if  sleep  he  could. 

At  the  rising  of  the  sun  Mark  was  awake.  Springing  to  his 
feet,  he  saw  that  Rancocus  Island  was  plainly  in  view.  In  the 
course  of  the  ten  hours  she  had  been  out,  the  jSTeshamony  had 
run  about  seventy  miles,  having  a  square-sail  set,  in  addition  to 
her  jib  and  main-sail.  This  brought  the  mountain  for  which 
she  was  steering  within  ten  leagues,  and  directly  to  leeward. 
A  little  impatience  was  betrayed  by  the  young* husband,  but, 
on  the  whole,  h-  behaved  reasonably  well.  Mark  had  never 
neglected  his  person,  notwithstanding  his  solitude.  Daily  baths, 
and  the  most  scrupulous  attention  to  his  attire,  so  far  as  neat-  , 
ness  went,  had  kept  him  not  only  in  health,  but  in  spirits,  the 
frame  of  the  mind  depending  most  intimately  on  the  condition 
of  the  body.  Among  other  habits,  he  preserved  that  of  shav- 
ing daily.  The  cutting  of  his  hair  gave  him  the  most  trouble, 
and  he  had  half  a  mind  to  got  Bob  to  act  as  barber  on  the 
present  occasion.  Then  he  remembered  having  seen  Bridget 
once  cut  the  hair  of  a  child,  and  he  could  not  but  fancy  how 
pleasant  it  would  be  to  have  her  moving  about  him,  in  the 
performance  of  the  same  office  on  himself.  He  decided,  con- 
sequently, to  remain  as  he  was,  as  regarded  his  looks,  until  his 
charming  bride  could  act  as  his  hair-dresser.  The  toilette, 
however,  was  not  neglected,  and,  on  the  whole,  there  was  no 
reason  to  complain  of  the  young  man's  appearance.  The  ship 
furnished  him  clothes  at  will,  and  the  climate  rendered  so  few 
necessary,  that  even  a  much  smaller  stock  than  he  possessed, 
would  probably  have  supplied  him  for  life. 

When  about  a  league  from  the  northern  end  of  Rancocus 
Island,  Bob  set  a  little  flag  at  his  mast-head,  the  signal,  pre- 
viously arranged,  of  his  having  been  successful.  Among  the 
stores  brought  by  the  party  from  America,  were  three  regular 
tents,  or  marquees,  which  Heaton  purchased  at  a  sale  of  old 
military  stores,  and  had  prudently  brought  with  him,  to  be 
used  as  occasion  might  demand.  These  marquees  were  now 
pitched  on  a  broad  piece  of  low  land,  that  lay  between  the 


220  the    crater: 

cliffs  and  the  beach,  and  where  the  colony  had  temporarily 
established  itself.  Mark's  heart  beat  violently  as  Bob  pointed 
out  these  little  canvas  dwellings  to  him.  They  were  the  abodes 
of  his  friends,  including  his  young  wife.  Next  the  cows  ap- 
peared, quietly  grazing  near  by,  with  a  pleasant  home  look, 
and  the  goats  and  colts  were  not  far  off,  cropping  the  grass. 
Altogether,  our  young  man  was  profoundly  overcome  again,  and 
it  was  some  time  ere  he  could  regain  his  self-command.  On  a 
point  that  proved  to  be  the  landing-place,  stood  a  solitary 
female  figure.  As  the  boat  drew  nearer  she  extended  her  arms, 
and  then,  as  if  unable  t>>  stand,  she  sunk  on  a  rock  which  had 
Berved  her  for  a  -cat  ever  sinee  the  distant  sail  was  visible.  In 
two  mure  minutes  Mark  Woolston  had  his  charming  young 
bride  encircled  in  his  arms.  The  delicacy  which  kept  the 
others  aloof  from  this  meeting,  was  imitated  by  Bob,  who, 
merely  causing  the  boat  to  brush  near  the  rock,  so  as  to  allow 
of  Mark's  jumping  ashore,  passed  on  to  a  distant  landing,  where 
he  was  met  by  most  of  his  party,  including  "  Friend  Martha," 
who  rejoiced  not  a  little  in  the  safe  return  of  Friend  Robert 
Betts.  In  half  an  hour  Mark  and  Bridget  came  up  to  the  mar- 
quees, when  the  former  made  the  acquaintance  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  and  had  the  happiness  of  embracing  his  sister.  It  was 
a  morning  of  the  purest  joy  and  deepest  gratitude.  On  the 
one  side,  the  solitary  man  found  himself  restored  to  the  delights 
of  social  life,  in  the  persons  of  those  on  earth  whom  he  most 
loved ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  numberless  apprehensions 
of  those  who  looked  for  him  and  his  place  of  retirement,  had 
all  their  anxiety  rewarded  by  complete  success.  Little  was 
done  that  day  but  to  ask  and  answer  questions.  Mark  had  to 
recount  all  that  had  happened  since  Bob  was  taken  from  him, 
and  not  trifling  was  the  trepidation  created  among  his  female 
listeners,  when  he  related  the  history  of  the  earthquake.  Their 
fears,  however,  were  somewhat  appeased  by  his  assurances  of 
security ;  the  circumstance  that  a  volcano  was  in  activity  near 
by,  being  almost  a  pledge  that  no  very  extensive  convulsions 
could  follow. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  221 

The  colonists  remained  a  week  at  Rancocus  Island,  being 
actually  too  happy  to  give  themselves  the  disturbance  of  a  re- 
moval. At  the  end  of  that  time,  however,  Anne  was  so  far  re- 
covered that  they  began  to  talk  of  a  voyage,  Bridget,  in  partic- 
ular, dying  to  see  the  place  where  Mark  had  passed  so  many 
solitary  hours ;  and,  as  he  had  assured  her  more  than  once, 
where  her  image  had  scarcely  ever  been  absent  from  his 
thoughts  an  hour  at  a  time.  As  it  would  be  impossible  to  em- 
bark all  the  effects  at  once,  in  the  Neshamony,  some  method 
was  to  be  observed  in  the  removal.  The  transportation  of  the 
cows  and  horses  was  the  most  serious  part  of  the  undertaking, 
the  pinnace  not  being  constructed  to  receive  such  animals. 
Room,  nevertheless,  could  be  made  for  one  at  a  time,  and  still 
leave  sufficient  space  in  the  stem-sheets  for  the  accommodation 
of  live  or  six  persons.  It  was  very  desirable  to  get  the  females 
away  first,  lest  the  rumor  of  the  mountain,  hitherto  unknown, 
should  spread  among  the  islands,  and  bring  them  visitors  who 
might  prove  to  be  troublesome,  if  not  dangerous.  Parties  ex- 
isted in  Betto's  group,  as  we  believe  they  exist  everywhere  else; 
and  Bob  knew  very  well  that  nothing  but  the  ascendency  of  his 
friend,  the  chief,  Ooroony,  had  been  the  means  of  his  escaping 
as  well  as  he  did,  in  the  land-fall  among  them  that  he  had 
made.  The  smallest  reverse  of  fortune  might  put  Betto  down, 
and  some  bitter  foe  up  ;  and  then  there  was  the  certainty  that 
war  canoes  might  come  off  in  quest  of  the  mountain,  at  any 
time,  without  asking  the  leave  of  the  friendly  chief,  even  while 
he  remained  in  power.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  freight  the  pinnace  with  the  most  valuable  of  the 
effects,  put  all  the  females  on  board,  and  send  her  off  under  the 
care  of  Mark,  Heaton,  and  Socrates,  leaving  Bob  and  Bigelow 
to  look  after  the  stock  and  the  rest  of  the  property.  It  was 
supposed  the  boat  might  be  absent  a  week.  This  was  done  ac- 
cordingly ;  Bob,  on  taking  leave  of  Friend  Martha,  particularly 
recommending  to  her  attention  the  Vulcan's  Peak  reed-birds; 
throwing  in  a  hint  that  he  should  be  glad  to  find  a  string  of 
them  in  the  pinnace,  on  her  return 


222  the    crater: 

The  voyage  to  windward  was  a  much  more  serious  business 
than  the  run  to  leeward.  By  Bob's  advice,  Mark  reefed  his 
main-sail,  and  took  the  bonnet  off  the  jib.  Following  the  same 
instructions,  he  stood  away  to  the  southward,  letting  the  boat 
go  through  the  water  freely,  intending  to  tack  when  he  came 
Dear  the  volcano,  and  not  before.  This  was  what  Bob  himself 
had  done,  and  that  which  had  turned  out  so  well  with  him,  he 
fancied  might  succeed  with  his  friend.  The  Neshamony  left 
Rancocus  Island  just  at  sunset.  Next  morning  Mark  saw  the 
smoke  of  the  volcano,  and  stood  for  it.  After  making  two 
stretches,  he  came  uj>  within  a  league  of  this  spot,  when  he 
tacked  and  stood  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  Vulcan's  Peak 
having  been  in  plain  view  the  entire  day.  As  respects  the  vol- 
cano, it  was  in  a  comparatively  quiet  state,  though  rumbling 
sounds  wnc  heard,  and  Btones  were  cast  into  the  air  in  consid- 
erable quantities,  while  the  boat  was  nearest  in.  One  thing, 
moreover,  Mark  ascertained,  which  greatly  increased  his  confi- 
dence in  the  permauency  of  the  changes  that  had  lately  oc- 
curred in  the  physical  formation  of  all  that  region.  He  found 
himself  in  comparatively  shoal  water,  when  fully  a  league  from 
this  new  crater — shoal,  in  a  seaman's  sense,  though  not  in 
shallow  water;  the  soundings  being  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
tat  homs,  with  a  rocky  bottom. 

Between  the  volcano  and  Vulcan's  Peak  it  blew  quite  fresh, 
and  Mark  had  a  good  occasion  to  ascertain  the  qualities  of  the 
pinnace.  A  long,  heavy  swell  came  rolling  through  the  pas- 
sage, which  was  near  sixty  miles  in  width,  seemingly  with  a 
sweep  that  extended  to  the  Southern  Ocean.  Notwithstanding 
all  this,  the  little  craft  did  wonders,  struggling  along  in  a  way 
one  would  hardly  have  expected  from  so  small  a  vessel.  She 
made  fully  two  knots  headway  in  the  worst  of  it,  and  in  gen- 
eral her  rate  of  sailing,  close  on  a  wind  and  under  pretty  short 
canvas,  was  about  three.  The  night  was  very  dark,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  steer  by  but  the  wind,  which  gave  some  little 
embarrassment;  but  finding  himself  in  much  smoother  water 
than  he  had  been  all  the  previous  day,  about  midnight,   our 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  223 

young  man  felt  satisfied  that  he  was  under  the  lee  of  the  island, 
and  at  no  great  distance  from  it.  He  made  short  tacks  until 
daylight,  when  the  huge  mass  hove  up  out  of  the  departing 
darkness,  within  a  mile  of  the  boat.  It  only  remained  to  run 
along  the  land  for  two  or  three  miles,  and  to  enter  the  haven 
of  Snug  Cove.  Mark  had  been  telling  his  companions  what  a 
secret  place  this  haven  was  to  conceal  a  vessel  in,  when  he  had 
a  practical  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  his  statement  that 
caused  him  to  be  well  laughed  at.  For  ten  minutes  he  could 
not  discover  the  entrance  himself,  having  neglected  to  take  the 
proper  land-marks,  that  he  might  have  no  difficulty  in  running 
for  his  port.  After  a  time,  however,  he  caught  sight  of  an 
object  that  he  remembered,  and  found  his  way  into  the  cove. 
Here  lay  the  little  namesake  of  his  pretty  wife,  just  as  he  had 
left  her,  the  true  Bridget  smiling  and  blushing  as  the  young 
husband  pointed  out  the  poor  substitute  he  had  been  compelled 
to  receive  for  herself,  only  ten  days  earlier. 

Mark,  and  Socrates,  and  Dido,  and  Teresa,  Bigelow's  wife, 
all  carried  up  heavy  loads ;  while  Heaton  had  as  much  as  he 
could  do  to  help  Anne  and  the  child  up  the  sharp  acclivity. 
Bridget,  with  her  light,  active  step,  and  great  eagerness  to  be- 
hold a  scene  that  Mark  had  described  with  so  much  eloquence, 
was  the  first,  by  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  on  the  plain.  "When 
the  others  reached  the  top,  they  saw  the  charming  young  thing 
running  about  in  the  nearest  grove,  that  in  which  her  husband 
had  dined,  collecting  fruit,  and  apparently  as  enchanted  as  a 
child.  Mark  paused,  as  he  gained  the  height,  to  gaze  on  this 
sight,  so  agreeable  in  his  eyes,  and  which  rendered  the  place  so 
very  different  from  what  it  had  been  so  recently,  while  he  was 
in  possession  of  its  glorious  beauties,  a  solitary  man.  Then,  he 
had  several  times  likened  himself  to  Adam  in  the  garden  cf 
Eden,  before  woman  was  given  to  him  for  a  companion.  Now, 
now  he  could  feast  his  eyes  on  an  Eve,  who  would  have  been 
highly  attractive  in  any  part  of  the  world. 

The  articles  brought  up  on  the  plain,  at  this  first  trip,  com- 
prised all  that  was  necessary  to   prepare  and  to  partake  of  a 


224  the    crater: 

breakfast  in  comfort.  A  firo  was  soon  blazing,  the  kettle  on, 
and  the  bread-fruit  baking.  Tt.  was  almost  painful  to  destroy 
the  reed-birds,  or  becca  Jichi,  so  numerous  were  they,  and  so 
confiding.  One  discharge  from  each  barrel  of  the  fowling- 
piece  had  enabled  Ileaton  to  bring  in  enough  for  the  whole 
party,  and  these  were  soon  roasting.  Mark  had  brought  with 
him  from  the  reef,  a  basket  of  fresh  eggs,  and  they  had  been 
Bridget's  load,  in  ascending  the  mountain,  lie  had  promised 
her  an  American  breakfast,  and  these  eggs,  boiled,  did  serve  to 
remind  everybody  of  a  distant  home,  that  was  still  remembered 
with  melancholy  pleasure.  A  heartier,  or  a  happier  meal,  not- 
withstanding, was  never  made  than  was  that  breakfast.  The 
mountain  air,  invigorating,  though  bland,  the  exercise,  the  ab- 
sence of  care,  the  excellence  of  the  food,  which  comprised 
fresh  figs,  a  tree  or  two  of  tolerable  sweetness  having  been 
found,  the  milk  of  the  cocoa-nut,  the  birds,  the  eggs,  the 
bread-fruit,  etc.,  all  contributed  their  share  to  render  the  meal 
memorable. 

The  men,  and  the  three  laboring  women,  were  employed  two 
days  in  getting  the  cargo  of  the  Neshamony  up  on  the  plain, 
or  to  Eden,  as  Bridget  named  the  spot,  unconscious  how  often 
she  herself  had  been  likened  to  a  lovely  Eve,  in  the  mind  of 
her  young  husband.  Two  of  the  marquees  had  been  brought, 
and  were  properly  erected,  having  board  floors,  and  every  thing 
comfortably  arranged  within  and  without  them.  A  roof,  how- 
ever, was  scarcely  necessary  in  that  delicious  climate,  where  one 
could  get  into  the  shade  of  a  grove ;  and  a  thatched  shed  was 
easily  prepared  for  a  dwelling  for  the  others.  By  the  end  of 
the  third  day,  the  whole  party  in  Eden  was  comfortably  estab- 
lished, and  Mark  took  a  short  leave  of  his  bride,  to  sail  for  Ran- 
cocus  again.  Bridget  shed  tears  at  this  separation,  short  as  it 
was  intended  to  be  ;  and  numberless  were  the  injunctions  to  be 
wary  of  the  natives,  should  the  latter  have  visited  Betts  in  the 
time  intervening  between  the  departure  of  the  Neshamony  and 
her  return. 

The  voyage  between  the  two  islands  lost  something  of  its 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  225 

gravity  each  time  it  was  made.  Mark  learned  a  little  every 
trip,  of  the  courses  to  be  steered,  the  peculiarities  of  the  cur- 
rents, and  the  height  of  the  seas.  He  ran  down  to  Rancocus, 
on  this  occasion,  in  three  hours  less  time  than  he  had  done  it 
before,  sailing  at  dusk  and  reaching  port  next  day  at  noon. 
Nothing  had  occurred,  and  to  work  the  men  -went  at  once,  to 
load  the  pinnace.  Room  was  left  for  one  of  the  cows  and  its 
calf;  and  Bob  being  seriously  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  improving  every  moment,  the  little  sloop  put  to  sea  again, 
the  evening  of  the  very  day  on  which  it  had  arrived. 

Bridget  was  standing  on  a  rock  by  the  side  of  the  limpid 
water  of  the  cove,  when  the  Neshamony  shot  through  its  en- 
trance into  the  little  haven,  and  her  hand  was  in  Mark's  the 
instant  he  landed.  Tears  gushed  into  the  eyes  of  the  young 
man  as  he  recalled  his  year  of  solitude,  and  felt  how  different 
was  such  a  welcome  from  his  many  melancholy  arrivals  and  de- 
partures, previously  to  the  recent  events. 

It  was  rather  a  troublesome  matter  to  get  the  cow  and  calf  up 
the  mountain.  The  first  did  not  see  enough  that  was  attractive 
in  naked  rocks,  to  induce  her  to  mount  in  the  best  of  humors. 
She  drank  freely,  however,  at  the  brook,  appearing  to  relish  its 
waters  particularly  well.  At  length  the  plan  was  adopted  of 
carrying  the  calf  up  a  good  distance,  the  cries  of  the  little  thing 
inducing  its  mother  immediately  to  follow.  In  this  way  both 
were  got  up  into  Eden,  in  the  course  of  an  hour.  And  well  did 
the  poor  cow  vindicate  the  name,  when  she  got  a  look  at  the 
broad  glades  of  the  sweetest  grasses,  that  were  stretched  before 
her.  So  strongly  was  her  imagination  struck  with  the  view — 
for  we  suppose  that  some  cows  have  even  more  imagination  than 
many  men — that  she  actually  kicked  up  her  heels,  and  away  she 
went,  head  down  and  tail  erect,  scampering  athwart  the  sward 
like  a  colt.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  she  began  to  graze, 
the  voyage  having  been  made  on  a  somewhat  short  allowance 
of  both  food  and  water.  If  there  ever  was  a  happy  animal,  it 
was  that  cow  !  Her  troubles  were  all  over.  Sea-sickness,  dry 
food,  short  allowances  of  water,  narrow  lodgings,  and  hard  beds, 
10* 


226  the    crater: 

were  all,  doubtless,  forgotten,  as  she  roamed  at  pleasure  over 
boundless  fields,  on  which  the  grass  was  perennial,  seeming  never 
to  be  longer  or  shorter  than  was  necessary  jjgjtgive  a  good  bite ; 
and  among  which  numberless  rills  of  the  fufcpt  waters  were 
sparkling  like  crystal. 

The  great  difficulty  in  possessing  a  dairy  in  a  warm  climate, 
is  the  want  of  pasture,  the  droughts  usually  being  so  long  in 
the  summer  months.  At  Vulcan's  Peak,  however,  and  indeed 
in  all  of  that  fine  region,  it  rained  occasionally,  throughout 
the  year,  more  in  winter  than  in  summer,  and  that  was  the 
sole  distinction  in  the  seasons,  after  allowing  for  a  trilling 
change  in  the  temperature.  These  peculiarities  appear  to  have 
been  owing  to  the  direction  of  the  prevalent  winds,  which  not 
only  brought  frequenl  showers,  but  which  preserved  a  reason- 
able degree  of  freshness  in  the  atmosphere.  Within  the  cra- 
ter, Mark  had  often  found  the  heat  oppressive,  even  in  the 
Bhade;  but  without,  scarcely  ever,  provided  his  body  was  nut 
directly  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays.  Nor  was  the  difference  in 
the  temperature  between  the  reef  and  the  peak  as  marked  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  the  great  elevation  of  the  last. 
This  was  owing  to  the  circumstance  "that  the  sea  air,  and  that 
usually  in' swift  motion,  entered  so  intimately  into  the  composi- 
tion of  the  atmosphere  down  on  that  low  range  of  rocks,  im- 
parting its  customary  freshness  to  every  thing  it  passed  over. 

Mark  did  not  make  the  next  trip  to  Rancocus.  By  this  time 
Anne  passed  half  the  day  in  the  open  air,  and  was  so  fast  re- 
gaining her  strength  that  Heaton  did  not  hesitate  to  leave  her. 
The  doctor  had  left  many  things  behind  him,  that  he  much 
wished  to  see  embarked  in  person,  and  he  volunteered  to  be  the 
companion  of  Socrates,  on  this  occasion,  leaving  the  bridegroom 
behind,  with  his  bride.  By  this  time,  Heaton  himself  was  a 
reasonably  good  sailor,  and  to  him  Mark  confided  the  instruc- 
tions as  to  the  course  to  be  steered  and  the  distance  to  be  run. 
All  resulted  favorably,  the  Neshamony  making  the  trip  in  very 
good  time,  bringing  into  the  cove,  the  fourth  day  after  she  had 
sailed,  not  only  the  remaining  cow  and  her  calf,  but  several  of 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  227 

the  goats.  Convinced  he  might  now  depend  on  Heaton  and 
Socrates  to  sail  the  pinnace,  and  Anne  expressing  a  perfect 
willingness  to  remain  on  the  peak,  in  company  with  Teresa  and 
Dido,  Mark  resolved  to  proceed  to  the  crater  with  his  two 
Bridgets,  feeling  the  propriety  of  no  longer  neglecting  the  prop- 
erty in  that  quarter  of  his  dominions.  There  was  nothing  to 
excite  apprehension,  and  the  women  had  all  acquired  a  certain 
amount  of  resolution,  that  more  properly  belonged  to  their  situa- 
tion than  to  their  sex  or  nature.  Anne's  great  object  of  con- 
cern was  the  "  baby."  As  long  as  that  was  safe,  every  thing 
with  her  was  going  on  well  ;  and  Dido  being  a  renowned  baby 
doctor,  and  all  the  simples  for  a  child's  ailings  being  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  young  mother,  she  raised  no  objection  whatever 
to  her  brother's  quitting  her. 

Bridget  had  great  impatience  to  make  this  voyage,  for  she 
longed  to  see  the  spot  where  her  husband  had  passed  so  many 
days  in  solitude.  Every  thing  he  had  mentioned,  in  their  many 
conferences  on  this  subject,  was  already  familiar  to  her  in  im- 
agination ;  but  she  wished  to  become  more  intimately  acquaint- 
ed with  each  and  all.  For  Kitty,  she  really  entertained  a  de- 
cided fondness,  and  even  the  pigs,  as  Mark's  companions,  had  a 
certain  romantic  value  in  her  eyes. 

The  morning  was  taken  for  the  departure,  and  just  as  the 
little  craft  got  out  from  under  the  lee  of  the  peak,  and  began  to 
feel  the  true  breeze,  the  sun  rose  gloriously  out  of  the  eastern 
waves,  lighting  the  whole  of  the  blue  waters  with  his  brilliant 
rays.  Never  did  Vulcan's  Peak  appear  more  grand  or  more 
soft — for  grandeur  or  sublimity,  blended  with  softness,  make 
the  principal  charm  of  noble  tropical  scenery — than  it  did  that 
morning ;  and  Bridget  looked  up  at  the  dark,  overhanging 
cliffs,  with  a  smile,  as  she  said — 

"  We  may  love  the  reef,  dear  Mark,  for  what  it  did  for  you 
in  your  distress,  but  I  foresee  that  this  Eden  will  eventually  be- 
come our  home." 

"There  are  many  things  to  render  this  mountain  preferable 
to  the  reef;  though,  now  we  are  seriously  thinking  of  a  colony, 


228  the    ceate'r: 

it  may  be  well  to  keep  both.  Even  Rancocus  would  be  of 
great  value  to  us,  as  a  pasture  for  goats,  and  a  range  for  cattle. 
It  may  be  long  before  the  space  will  be  wanted  by  human  be- 
ings, for  actual  cultivation  ;  but  each  of  our  present  possessions 
is  now,  and  long  will  continue  to  be,  of  great  use  to  us  as  as- 
sistants. We  shall  live  principally  on  the  peak,  I  think  myself; 
but  we  must  fish,  get  our  salt,  and  obtain  most  of  our  vegeta- 
bles from  the  reef." 

"  Oh  !  that  reef,  that  reef — how  long  will  it  be,  Mark,  before 
we  see  it  ?" 

The  enamored  young  husband  laughed,  and  kissed  his  charm- 
ing wife,  and  told  her  to  restrain  her  impatience.  Several 
hours  must  elapse  before  they  could  even  come  in  sight  of  the 
rocks.  These  hours  did  pass,  and  with  the  occurrence  of  no 
event  worthy  of  being  recorded.  The  trades  usually  blew  fresh 
in  that  quarter  of  the  ocean,  but  it  was  seldom  that  they 
brought  tempests.  Occasionally  squalls  did  occur,  it  is  true  ; 
but  a  prudent  and  experienced  mariner  could  ordinarily  guard 
against  their  consequences,  while  the  hurricane  seldom  failed, 
like  most  other  great  physical  phenomena,  to  have  its  precur- 
sors, that  wrere  easily  seen  and  understood.  On  the  present  oc- 
casion, the  boat  ran  across  the  passage  in  very  good  time,  mak- 
ing the  crater  in  about  five  hours,  and  the  ship's  masts  in  six. 
Mark  made  a  good  land-fall,  coming  in  to  leeward  of  the  cape, 
•or  low  promontory  already  mentioned — Cape  South  he  called  it 
— while  there  still  remained  several  hours  of  day.  Bridget  was 
greatly  struck  with  the  vast  difference  she  could  not  help  finding 
between  the  appearance  of  these  low,  dark,  and  so  often  naked 
rocks,  and  that  of  the  Eden  she  had  just  left.  Tears  came  into 
her  eyes,  as  she  pictured  her  husband  a  solitary  wanderer  over 
these  wastes,  with  no  water,  even,  but  that  which  fell  from  the 
clouds,  or  which  came  from  the  casks  of  the  ship.  When, 
however,  she  gave  utterance  to  this  feeling,  one  so  natural  to 
her  situation,  Mark  told  her  to  have  patience  until  they  reached 
the  crater,  when  she  would  see  that  he  had  possessed  a  variety  of 
blessings,  for  which  he  had  every  reason  to  be  grateful  to  God. 


oe,    vulcan's    peak.  229 

There  was  no  difficulty  in  getting  into  the  proper  channel, 
when  the  boat  fairly  flew  along  the  rocks  that  lined  the  pas- 
sages. So  long  as  she  was  in  rough  water,  the  sails  of  so  small 
a  craft  were  necessarily  becalmed  a  good  deal  of  the  time  ;  but 
now  that  there  was  nothing  to  intercept  the  breeze,  she  caught  it 
all,  and  made  the  most  of  it.  To  Mark's  surprise,  as  they 
passed  the  prairie,  he  saw  all  of  his  swine  on  it,  now,  including 
two  half-unconsumed  litters  of  well-grown  pigs,  some  seventeen 
in  number.  These  animals  had  actually  found  their  way  along 
the  rocks,  a  distance  of  at  least  twenty  miles  from  home,  and 
by  the  crooked  path  they  had  taken,  probable  one  much  great- 
er. They  all  appeared  full,  and  contented.  So  much  of  the 
water  had  already  evaporated  as  to  make  it  tolerable  walking 
on  the  sea-weed ;  and  Mark,  stopping  to  examine  the  progress 
of  things,  prognosticated  that  another  year,  in  that  climate, 
would  convert  the  whole  of  that  wide  plain  into  dry  land.  In 
many  places,  the  hogs  had  already  found  their  way  down, 
through  the  sea-weed,  into  the  mud  ;  and  there  was  one  partic- 
ular spot,  quite  near  the  channel,  where  the  water  was  all  gone, 
and  where  the  pigs  had  rooted  over  so  much  of  the  surface,  as 
to  convert  two  or  three  acres  into  a  sort  of  half-tilled  field,  in 
which  the  sea-weed  was  nearly  turned  under  the  mud.  Noth- 
ing but  drenching  rains  were  wanting  to  render  such  a  place 
highly  productive,  and  it  was  certain  those  rains  would  come  at 
the  end  of  the  season. 

About  the  middle  of  the  day,  Mark  ran  the  boat  alongside  of 
the  reef,  at  the  usual  landing,  and  welcomed  Bridget  to  his  and 
her  home  with  a  kiss.  Every  thing  was  in  its  place,  and  a 
glance  sufficed  to  show  that  no  human  foot  had  been  there, 
during  the  weeks  of  his  absence.  Kitty  was  browsing  on  the 
Summit,  and  no  spaniel  could  have  played  more  antics  than  she 
did,  at  the  sight  of  her  master.  At  first,  Mark  had  thought  of 
transferring  this  gentle  and  playful  young  goat  to  the  peak,  and 
to  place  her  in  the  little  flock  collected  there ;  but  he  had  been 
induced  to  change  his  mind,  by  recollecting  how  much  she  con- 
tributed to  the  beauty  of  the  Summit,  by  keeping  down  the 


230  the    crater: 

grass.  He  had  therefore  brought  her  a  companion,  which  had 
no  sooner  been  landed  on  the  reef,  than  it  bounded  off  to  make 
acquaintance  with  the  stranger  on  the  elevation. 

Bridget  was  almost  overcome  when  she  got  on  board  the  ship. 
There  was  even  a  certain  sublimity  in  the  solitude  that  reigned 
over  every  thing,  that  impressed  her  imagination,  and  she  won- 
dered that  any  human  being  coukl  so  long  have  dwelt  there 
alone,  uncheered  by  the  hope  of  deliverance.  In  the  cabin  of 
that  vessel  she  had  plighted  her  faith  to  Mark,  and  a  flood 
of  recollections  burst  upon  her  as  she  entered  it.  Mark  was 
obliged  to  allow  her  to  seek  relief  in  tears.  But  half  an  hour 
brought  her  round  again,  and  then  she  set  about  putting  things 
in  order,  and  making  this  very  important  abode  submit  to  the 
influence  of  woman's  Lore  of  comfort  and  order.  By  the  time 
Mark  came  back  from  his  garden,  whither  he  had  gone  to  as- 
certain its  condition,  Bridget  had  his  supper  ready  for  him, 
prepared  with  a  neatness  and  method  to  which  he  had  long 
been  a  stranger.  That  was  a  very  delicious  meal  to  both.  The 
husband  had  lighted  a  fire  in  the  galley,  where  the  wife  had 
cooked  the  meal,  which  consisted  principally  of  some  pan-lish, 
taken  in  the  narrow  channels  between  the  rocks,  and  which  had 
been  cleaned  by  Mark  himself,  as  they  sailed  along.  It  was,  in- 
deed, a  great  point  of  solicitude  with  this  young  husband  to  pre- 
vent his  charming  wife  from  performing  duties  for  which  she 
was  unfitted  by  education,  while  the  wife  herself  was  only  too 
solicitous  to  make  herself  useful.  In  one  sense,  Bridget  was  a 
very  knowing  person  about  a  household.  She  knew  how  to  pre- 
pare many  savory  compounds,  and  had  the  whole  culinary  art  at 
her  fingers'  ends,  in  the  wray  of  giving  directions.  It  was  no 
wonder,  then,  that  Mark  found  every  thing  she  touched,  or 
prepared,  good,  as  every  thing  she  said  sounded  pleasant  and 
reasonable.  The  last  is  a  highly  important  ingredient  in  matri- 
monial life,  but  the  first  has  its  merit  ;  and  Bridget  Woolston 
was  both  pleasant  and  reasonable.  Though  a  little  romantic, 
and  inclined  to  hazard  all  for  feeling  and  what  she  conceived 
to  be  duty,  at  the  bottom  of  all  ran  a  vein  of  excellent  sense, 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  231 

•which  had  been  reasonably  attended  to.  Her  temper  was 
sweetness  itself,  and  that  is  one  of  the  greatest  requisites  in 
married  happiness.  To  this  great  quality  must  be  added  affec-' 
tion,  for  she  was  devoted  to  Mark,  and  nothing  he  wished  would 
she  hesitate  about  striving  to  obtain,  even  at  painful  sacrifices 
to  herself.  One  as  generous-minded  and  manly  as  her  husband, 
could  not  fail  to  discover  and  appreciate  such  a  disposition, 
which  entered  very  largely  into  the  composition  of  their  future 
happiness. 

Our  young  couple  did  not  visit  the  crater  and  the  Summit 
until  the  sun  had  lost  most  of  its  power.  Then  Mark  intro- 
duced his  wife  into  his  garden,  and  to  his  lawn.  Exclamations 
of  delight  escaped  the  last,  at  nearly  every  step  ;  for,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  accidental  peculiarities  of  such  a  place,  the  vegeta- 
tion had  advanced  as  vegetation  only  can  advance  within  the 
tropics,  favored  by  frequent  rains  and  a  rich  soil.  The  radishes 
were  half  as  large  as  Bridget's  wrists,  and  as  tender  as  her 
heart ;  the  lettuce  was  already  heading  ;  the  beans  were  fit  to 
pull ;  the  onions  large  enough  to  boil,  and  the  peas  even  too 
old.  On  the  Summit,  Mark  cut  a  couple  of  melons,  which  were 
of  a  flavor  surpassing  any  he  had  ever  before  tasted.  With 
that  spot  Bridget  was  especially  delighted.  It  was,  just  thon, 
as  green  as  grass  could  be,  and  Kitty  had  found  its  plants  so 
very  sweet,  that  she  had  scarce  descended  once  to  trespass  on 
the  garden.  Here  and  there  the  imprint  of  her  little  hoof  was 
to  be  traced  on  a  bed,  it  is  true,  but  she  appeared  to  have  gone 
there  more  to  look  after  the  condition  of  the  garden  than  to 
gratify  her  appetite. 

While  on  the  Summit,  Mark  pointed  out  to  his  wife  the 
fowls,  now  increased  to  something  like  fifty.  Two  or  three 
broods  of  chickens  had  come  within  the  last  mouth,  making 
their  living  on  the  reef  that  was  separated  from  that  of  the 
crater  by  means  of  the  bridge  of  planks.  As  two  or  three 
flew  across  the  narrow  pass,  however,  he  was  aware  that  the 
state  of  his  garden  must  be  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  still 
found  a  plenty  on  those  rocks  for  their  support.     In  returning 


232 


the    crater: 


to  the  ship,  he  visited  a  half-barrel  prepared  for  that  purpose,, 
and,  as  he  expected,  found  a  nest  containing  a  dozen  eggs. 
These  he  took  the  liberty  of  appropriating  to  his  own  use, 
telling  Bridget  that  they  could  eat  some  of  them  for  their 
breakfast. 

But  food  never  had* been  an  interest  to  give  our  solitary  man 
much  uneasiness.  From  the  hour  when  he  found  muck,  and 
Bea-weed,  and  guano,  he  felt  assured  of  the  means  of  subsis- 
tence ;  being,  in  truth,  though  he  may  not  have  known  it  him- 
self, more  in  danger  of  falling  behindhand  in  consequence  of 
the  indisposition  to  activity  that  almost  ever  accompanies  the 
abundance  of  a  warm  climate,  than  from  the  absolute  want  of 
tlir  means  of  advancing.  That  night  Mark  and  Bridget  knelt, 
side  by  Bide,  ami  returned  thanks  to  God  for  all  his  mercies. 
H"\s  sweet  the  former  found  it  to  see  the  light  form  of  his 
beautiful  companion  moving  about  the  spacious  cabin,  giving  it 
an  air  of  home  and  happiness,  no  one  can  fully  appreciate  who 
has  not  been  cut  off  from  these  accustomed  joys,  and  then  been 
suddenly  restored  to  them. 


OR,     VULCAN     S     PEAK.  233 


CHAPTER  XV. 

w  I  beg,  good  Heaven,  with  just  desires, 
What  need,  not  luxury,  requires; 
Give  me,  with  sparing  hands,  but  moderate  wealth, 
A  little  honor,  and  enough  of  health; 

Free  from  the  busy  city  life, 
Near  shady  groves  and  purling  streams  confined, 

A  faithful  friend,  a  pleasing  wife ; 
And  give  me  all  in  one,  give  a  contented  mind." 

Anonymous. 

Mark  and  Bridget  remained  at  the  reef  a  week,  entirely  alone. 
To  them  the  time  seemed  but  a  single  day ;  and  so  completely 
were  they  engrossed  with  each  other  and  their  present  happi- 
ness, that  they  almost  dreaded  the  hour  of  return.  Every  thing 
was  visited,  however,  even  to  the  abandoned  anchor,  and  Mark 
made  a  trip  to  the  eastward,  carrying  his  wife  out  into  the  open 
water  in  that  direction.  But  the  ship  and  the  crater  gave  Bridget 
the  greatest  happiness.  Of  these  she  never  tired,  though  the 
first  gave  her  the  most  pleasure.  A  ship  was  associate!  with 
all  her  earliest  impressions  of  Mark  ;  on  board  that  very  ship 
she  had  been  married ;  and  now  it  formed  her  home,  tempora- 
rily, if  not  permanently.  Bridget  had  been  living  so  long  be- 
neath a  tent,  and  in  savage  huts,  that  the  accommodation! 
the  Rancocus  appeared  like  those  of  a  palace.  They  were  nol 
inelegant  even,  though  it  was  not  usual,  in  that  period  of  tin 
republic,  to  fit  up  vessels  with  a  magnificence  little  short  of 
royal  yachts,  as  is  done  at  present.  In  the  way  of  convenience, 
however,  our  ship  could  boast  of  a  great  deal.  Her  cabins 
were  on  deck,  or  under  a  poop,  and  consequently  enjoyed  every 
advantage  of  light  and  air.  Beneath  were  store-rooms,  still 
well  suppjied  with   many  articles  of  luxury,  though  time  was 


234  the    cratek: 

beginning  to  make  its  usual  inroads  on  their  qualities.  The 
bread  was  not  quite  as  sound  as  it  was  once,  nor  did  the  teas 
retain  all  their  strength  and  flavor,  but  the  sugar  was  just  as 
sweet  as  the  day  it  was  shipped,  and  in  the  coffee  there  was  no 
apparent  change.  Of  the  butter  we  do  not  choose  to  say  any 
thing.  Bridget,  in  the  prettiest  manner  imaginable,  declared 
that  as  soon  as  she  could  set  Dido  at  work,  the  store-rooms 
should  be  closely  examined  and  thoroughly  cleaned.  Then  the 
galley  made  such  a  convenient  and  airy  kitchen  !  Mark  had 
removed  the  house,  the  awning  answering  every  purpose,  and 
his  v.  iff  declared  thai  it  was  a  pleasure  to  cook  a  meal  Tor  him, 
in  so  pleasant  a  place. 

The  first  dish  Bridget  ever  literally  cooked  for  Mark,  with 
her  own  hands — or,  indeed,  for  anyone  else — was  a  mess  of 
"  grass,"  as  it  was  the  custom  of  even  the  most  polished  people 
of  America  then  to  call  asparagus.  They  had  gone  together  to 
the  asparagus  bed  on  Loam  Island,  and  had  found  the  plant 
absolutely  luxuriating  in  its  favorite  soil.  The  want  of  butter 
was  the  greatest  defect  in  this  mess — for,  to  say  the  truth, 
Bridget  refnsed  the  ship's  butter  on  this  occasion — but,  luckily, 
enough  oil  remained  to  furnish  a  tolerable  substitute.  Mark  de- 
clared he  had  never  tasted  any  thing  in  his  life  half  so  good ! 

At  the  end  of  the  week,  the  governor,  as  Heaton  had  styled 
Mark,  and  as  Bridget  had  begun  playfully  to  term  him,  gave  the 
opinion  that  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  tear  themselves  away 
from  their  paradise.  Never  before,  most  certainly,  had  the  reef 
appeared  to  the  young  husband  a  spot  as  delightful  as  he  now 
found  it,  and  it  did  seem  to  him  very  possible  for  one  to  pass  a 
whole  life  on  it  without  murmuring.  His  wife  again  and  again 
assured  him  she  had  never  before  been  half  as  happy,  and  that, 
much  as  she.  loved  Anne  and  the  baby,  she  could  remain  a 
month  longer,  without  being  in  the  least  wearied.  But  it  was 
prudent  to  return  to  the  peak,  for  Mark  had  never  felt  his  for- 
mer security  against  foreign  invasion,  since  he  was  acquainted 
with  the  proximity  of  peopled  islands. 

The  passage  was  prosperous,  and  it  gave  the  scene  an  air  of 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  235 

civilization  and  life,  to  fall  in  with  the  Neshamony  off  the  cove. 
She  was  coming  in  from  Eancocus,  on  her  last  trip  for  the  stores, 
having  brought  every  thing  away  but  two  of  the  goats.  These 
had  been  driven  up  into  the  mountains,  and  there  left.  Bige- 
low  had  come  away,  and  the  whole  party  of  colonists  were  now 
assembled  at  Vulcan's  Peak.  But  Betts  had  a  communication 
to  make  that  gave  the  governor  a  good  deal  of  concern.  He 
reported  that  after  they  had  got  the  pinnace  loaded,  and  were 
only  waiting  for  the  proper  time  of  day  to  quit  Rancocus,  they 
discovered  a  fleet  of  canoes  and  catamarans  approaching  the 
island  from  the  direction  of  the  Group,  as  they  familiarly  termed 
the  cluster  of  islands  that  was  known  to  be  nearest  to  them,  to 
the  northward  and  westward.  By  means  of  a  glass,  Betts  had 
ascertained  that  a  certain  Waally  was  on  board  the  leading 
canoe,  and  he  regarded  this  as  an  evil  omen.  Waally  was  Oo- 
roony's  most  formidable  rival  and  most  bitter  foe  ;  and  the  cir- 
cumstance that  he  was  leading  such  a  flotilla,  of  itself,  Bob 
thought,  was  an  indication  that  he  had  prevailed  over  honest 
Betto,  in  some  recent  encounter,  and  was  now  abroad,  bent  on 
further  mischief.  Indeed,  it  seemed  scarcely  possible  that  men 
like  the  natives  should  hear  of  the  existence  of  such  a  mountain 
as  that  of  Rancocus  Island,  in  their  vicinity,  and  not  wish  to 
explore,  if  not  to  possess  it. 

Betts  had  pushed  off,  and  made  sail,  as  soon  as  assured  of 
this  fact.  He  knew  the  pinnace  could  outsail  any  thing  the  isl- 
anders possessed,  more  especially  on  a  wind,  and  he  manoeuvred 
about  the  flotilla  for  an  hour,  making  his  observations  before  he 
left  it.  This  was  clearly  a  war  party,  and  Bob  thought  there 
were  white  men  in  it.  At  least,  he  saw  two  individuals  who  ap- 
peared to  him  to  be  white  sailors,  attired  in  a  semi-savage  way, 
and  who  were  in  the  same  canoe  with  the  terrible  Waally.  It 
was  nothing  out  of  the  way  for  seamen  to  get  adrift  on  the  isl- 
and scattered  about  in  the  Pacific,  there  being  scarcely  a  group 
in  which  more  or  less  of  them  were  not  to  be  found.  The  pres- 
ence of  these  men,  too,  Bob  regarded  as  another  evil  omen,  and 
he  felt  the  necessity  of  throwing  all  the  dust  he  could  into  their 


236  the    crater: 

eyes.  When  the  pinnace  left  the  flotilla,  therefore,  instead  of 
passing  out  to  windward  of  the  island,  as  was  her  true  course, 
she  steered  in  an  almost  contrary  direction,  keeping  off  well  to 
leeward  of  the  land,  in  order  not  to  get  becalmed  under  the 
heights,  for  Bob  well  knew  the  canoes,  with  paddles,  would  soon 
overhaul  him,  should  he  lose  the  wind. 

It  was  the  practice  of  our  colonists  to  quit  Rancocus  just  be- 
fore the  sun  set,  and  to  stand  all  night  on  a  south-east  course. 
This  invariably  brought  them  in  sight  of  the  smoke  of  the  vol- 
cano by  morning,  and  shortly  after  they  made  the  peak.  All 
of  the  day  that  succeeded,  was  commonly  passed  in  beating  up 
to  the  volcano,  or  as  near  to  it  as  it  was  thought  prudent  to  go; 
and,  tacking  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  about  sunset  of  the 
second  day,  it  was  found  on  the  following  morning,  that  the 
Neshamoiiv  was  drawing  near  to  the  cliffs  of  Vulcan's  Peak,  if 
she  were  not  already  beneath  them.  As  a  matter  of  course,  then, 
Bob  had  not  far  to  go,  before  night  shut  in,  and  left  him  at 
liberty  to  steer  in  whatever  direction  he  pleased.  Fortunately, 
that  night  had  no  moon,  though  there  was  not  much  danger  of 
so  small  a  craft  as  the  Neshamony  being  seen  at  any  great  dis- 
tance on  the  water,  even  by  moonlight.  Bob  consequently  de- 
termined to  beat  up  off  the  north  end  of  the  island,  or  Low 
Cape,  as  it  was  named  by  the  colonists,  from  the  circumstance 
of  its  having  a  mile  or  two  of  low  land  around  it,  before  the 
mountains  commenced.  Once  off  the  cape  again,  and  reasona- 
bly well  in,  he  might  pos>il»ly  make  discoveries  that  would  be 
of  use. 

It  took  two  or  three  hours  to  regain  the  lost  ground,  by  beat- 
ing to  windward.  By  eleven  o'clock,  however,  the  Neshamony 
was  not  only  off  the  cape,  but  quite  close  in  with  the  landing. 
The  climate  rendering  fires  altogether  unnecessary  at  that  sea- 
son, and,  indeed,  at  nearly  all  seasons,  except  for  cooking,  Bob 
could  not  trace  the  encampment  of  the  savages  by  that  means. 
Still,  he  obtained  all  the  information  he  desired.  This  was  not 
done,  however,  without  great  risk,  and  by  a  most  daring  step 
on  his  part.     Ue  lowered  the  sails  of  the  boat  and  went  along- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  237 

side  of  the  rock,  where  the  pinnace  usually  came  to,  the  canoes, 
etc.,  having  made  another,  and  a  less  eligible  harbor.  Bob  then 
landed  in  person,  and  stole  along  the  shore  in  the  direction  of 
the  sleeping  savages.  Unknown  to  himself,  he  was  watched, 
and  was  just  crouching  under  some  bushes,  in  order  to  get  a 
little  nearer,  when  he  felt  a  hand  on  his  shoulder.  There  was 
a  moment  when  blood  was  in  danger  of  being  shed,  but  Betts' 
hand  was  stayed  by  hearing,  in  good  English,  the  words — 

"Where  are  you  bound,  shipmate?" 

The  question  was  asked  in  a  guarded,  under  tone,  a  circum- 
stance ts~£r  reassured  Bob,  quite  as  much  as  the  language.  He 
at  once  perceived  that  the  two  men  whom  he  had,  rightly 
enough,  taken  for  seamen,  were  in  these  bushes,  where  it  would 
seem  they  had  long  been  on  the  watch,  observing  the  move- 
ments of  the  pinnace.  They  told  Bob  to  have  no  apprehen- 
sions, as  all  the  savages  were  asleep,  at  some-  little  distance,  and 
accompanied  him  back  to  the  Neshamony.  Here,  to  the  sur- 
prise and  joy  of  all  parties,  Bigelow  recognized  both  the  sailors, 
who  had  not  only  been  his  former  shipmates,  but  were  actual- 
ly his  townsmen  in  America,  the  whole  three  having  been  bora 
within  a  mile  of  each  other.  The  history  of  these  three  wan- 
derers from  home  was  very  much  alike.  They  had  come  to 
the  Pacific  in  a  whaler,  with  a  drunken  captain,  and  had,  in 
succession,  left  the  ship.  Bigelow  found  his  way  to  Panama, 
where  he  was  caught  by  the  dark  eyes  of  Teresa,  as  has  been 
related.  Peters  had  fallen  in  with  Jones,  in  the  course  of  his 
wanderings,  and  they  had  been  for  the  last  two  years  among 
the  pearl  islands,  undecided  what  to  do  with  themselves,  when 
Waally  ordered  both  to  accompany  him  in  the  present  expedi- 
tion. They  had  gathered  enough  in  hints  given  by  different 
chiefs,  to  understand  that  a  party  of  Christians  was  to  be  mas- 
sacred, or  enslaved,  and  plundered  of  course.  They  had  heard 
of  the  "  canoe"  that  had  been  tabooed  for  twelve  moons,  but 
were  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  one-half  of  the  story,  and  were 
left  to  the  most  anxious  conjectures.  They  were  not  permitted 
to  pass  on  to  the  islands  under  the  control  of  Ooroony,  but 


238  the    crater: 

were  jealously  detained  in  Waally's  part  of  the  group,  and  con- 
sequently had  not  been  in  a  situation  to  learn  all  the  particulars 
of  the  singular  party  of  colonists  avIio  had  gone  to  the  south- 
ward. Thus  much  did  Peters  relate,  in  substance,  when  a 
call  among  the  savages  notified  the  whole  of  the  whites  of  the 
necessity  of  coming  to  some  conclusion  concerning  the  future. 
Jones  and  Peters  acknowledged  it  would  not  be  safe  to  remain 
any  longer,  though  the  last  gave  his  opinion  with  an  obvious 
reluctance.  As  it  afterward  appeared,  Peters  had  married  an 
Indian  wife,  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  and  he  did  not 
like  the  idea  of  abandoning  her.  There  was  but  a  moment  for 
reflection,  however,  ami  almost  without  knowing  it  himself, 
when  he  found  the  pinnace  about  to  make  sail  in  order  to  get 
oil'  the  land,  he  followed  Jones  into  her,  and  was  half  a  mile 
from  the  shore  before  he  had  time  to  reflect  much  on  her  he 
had  left  behind  him.  His  companion  consoled  him  by  telling 
him  that  an  opportunity  might  occur  of  sending  a  message  to 
Petrina,  as  they  had  named  the  pretty  young  savage,  who  would 
not  tail  to  rind  her  way  to  Eancocus,  sooner  or  later. 

"With  these  important  accessions  to  his  forces,  Bob  did  not 
hesitate  about  putting  to  sea,  leaving  Waally  to  make  what 
discoveries  he  might.  Should  the  natives  ascend  to  the  higher 
parts  of  the  mountain,  they  could  hardly  fail  to  see  both  the 
smoke  of  the  volcano  and  the  peak,  though  it  would  luckily 
not  be  in  their  power  to  see  the  reef,  or  any  part  of  that  low 
group  of  rocks.  It  was  very  possible  they  might  attempt  to 
cross  the  passage  between  the  two  mountains,  though  the  cir- 
cumstance that  Vulcan's  Peak  lay  so  directly  to  windward  of 
Itancocus  offered  a  very  serious  obstacle  to  their  succeeding. 
Had  the  two  sailors  remained  with  them,  they,  indeed,  might 
have  taught  the  Indians  to  overcome  the  winds  and  waves  ;  but 
these  very  men  were  of  opinion,  from  what  they  had  seen  of  the 
natives  and  of  their  enterprises,  that  it  rather  exceeded  their 
skill  and  perseverance,  to  work  their  canoes  a  hundred  miles 
dead  to  windward,  and  against  the  sea  that  was  usually  on  in 
that  quarter  of  the  Pacific. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  239 

The  colonists,  generally,  gave  the  two  recruits  a  very  wel- 
come reception.  Bridget  smiled  when  Mark  suggested  that 
Jones,  who  was  a  well-looking  lad  enough,  would  make  a  very 
proper  husband  for  Joan,  and  that  he  doubted  not  his  being 
called  on,  in  his  character  of  magistrate,  to  unite  them  in  the 
course  of  the  next  six  months.  The  designs  of  the  savages, 
however,  caused  the  party  to  think  of  any  thing  but  weddings, 
just  at  that  moment,  and  a  council  was  held  to  devise  a  plan 
for  their  future  government.  As  Mark  was  considered  the  head 
of  the  colony,  and  had  every  way  the  most  experience,  his 
opinion  swayed  those  of  his  companions,  and  all  his  recom- 
mendations were  adopted.  There  were  on  board  the  ship  eight 
carronades,  then  quite  a  new  gun,  and  mounted  on  trucks. 
They  were  of  the  bore  of  twelve-pounders,  but  light  and  man- 
ageable. There  was  also  abundance  of  ammunition  in  the 
vessel's  magazine,  no  ship  coming  to  the  Feejees  to  trade  with- 
out a  proper  regard  to  the  armament.  Mark  proposed  going 
over  to  the  reef  with  the  Neshamony,  the  very  next  day,  in  or- 
der to  transport  two  of  the  guns,  with  a  proper  supply  of  pow- 
der and  shot,  to  the  peak.  Now  there  was  one  place  on  the 
path,  or  stairs,  where  it  would  be  easy  to  defend  the  last  against 
an  army,  the  rocks,  which  were  absolutely  perpendicular  on 
each  side  of  it,  coming  so  close  together,  as  to  render  it  practic- 
able to  close  the  passage  by  a  narrow  gate.  This  gate  Mark 
did  not  purpose  to  erect  now,  for  he  thought  it  unnecessary. 
All  he  intended  was  to  plant  the  two  guns  at  this  pass :  one  on 
a  piece  of  level  rock  directly  over  it,  and  a  little  on  one  side, 
which  would  command  the  entrance  of  the  cove,  and  the  cove 
itself,  as  well  as  the  whole  of  the  path  beneath  ;  and  the  other 
on  another  natural  platform,  a  short  distance  above,  where  it 
could  not  only  command  the  pass,-but,  by  using  the  last  as  a  sort 
of  embrasure,  by  firing  through  it,  could  not  only  sweep  the 
ravine  for  some  distance  down,  but  could  also  rake  the  entrance 
of  the  cove,  and  quite  half  of  the  little  basin  itself. 

Bob  greatly  approved  of  this  arrangement,  though  all  the 
Beamen  were  too  much  accustomed  to  obey  their  officers   to 


240  the    crater: 

raise  the  smallest  objections  to  any  thing  that  Mark  proposed. 
Betts  was  the  only  person  who  had  made  the  circuit  of  the 
peak  ;  but  he,  and  Mark,  and  Heaton,  who  had  been  a  good 
deal  round  the  cliffs,  on  the  side  of  the  water,  all  agreed  in 
saying  they  did  not  believe  it  possible  for  a  human  being 
to  reach  the  plain,  unless  the  ascent  was  made  by  the  stairs. 
This,  of  course,  rendered  the  fortifying  of  the  last  a  matter  of 
so  much  the  greater  importance,  since  it  converted  the  whole 
island  into  a  second  Gibraltar.  It  was  true,  the  reef  would  re- 
main exposed  to  depredations ;  though  Mark  was  of  opinion 
that,  by  leaving  a  portion  of  their  force  in  the  ship,  with  two 
or  three  of  the  guns  at  command,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
beat  off  five  hundred  natives.  As  for  the  crater,  it  might  very 
easily  be  made  impregnable. 

At  this  meeting  Heaton  proposed  the  establishment  of  some 
sort  of  government  and  authority,  which  they  should  all  solemn- 
ly swear  to  support.  The  idea  was  favorably  received,  and 
Mark  was  unanimously  chosen  governor  for  life,  the  law  being  the 
rule  of  right,  with  such  special  enactments  as  might,  from  time 
to  time,  issue  from  a  council  of  three,  who  were  also  elected  for 
life.  This  council  consisted  of  the  governor,  Heaton,  and  Betts. 
Human  society  has  little  difficulty  in  establishing  itself  on  just 
principles,  when  the  wants  are  few  and  interests  simple.  It  is 
the  bias  given  by  these  last  that  perverts  it  from  the  true  direc- 
tion. In  our  island  community,  most  of  its  citizens  were  ac- 
customed to  think  that  education  and  practice  gave  a  man 
certain  claims  to  control,  and,  as  yet,  demagogueism  had  no 
place  with  them.  A  few  necessary  rules,  that  were  connected 
with  their  particular  situation,  were  enacted  by  the  council  and 
promulgated,  when  the  meeting  adjourned.  Happily  they 
were,  as  yet,  far,  very  far  from  that  favorite  sophism  of  the  day, 
which  would  teach  the  inexperienced  to  fancy  it  an  advantage 
to  a  legislator  to  commence  his  career  as  low  as  possible  on  the 
scale  of  ignorance,  in  order  that  he  might  be  what  it  is  the  fash- 
ion to  term  "  a  self-made  man." 

Mark  now  took  the  command,  and  issued  his  orders  with  a 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  241 

show  of  authority.  His  attention  was  first  turned  to  rendering 
the  peak  impregnable.  There  were  a  plenty  of  muskets  and 
fowling-pieces  already  there,  Heaton  having  come  well  provided 
with  arms  and  ammunition.  As  respects  the  last,  Peters  and 
Jones  were  set  to  work  to  clear  out  a  sort  of  cavern  in  the  rock, 
that  was  not  only  of  a  convenient  size,  but  which  was  conve- 
niently placed  for  such  a  purpose,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
head  of  the  stairs,  to  receive  the  powder,  etc.  The  cavity  was 
perfectly  dry,  an  indispensable  requisite,  and  it  was  equally  well 
protected  against  the  admission  of  water. 

The  next  thing  was  to  collect  a  large  pile  of  dry  wood  on  the 
naked  height  of  the  peak.  This  was  to  be  lighted,  at  night,  in 
the  event  of  the  canoes  appearing  while  he  was  absent,  Mark 
being  of  opinion  that  he  could  see  such  a  beacon-fire  from  the 
reef,  whither  he  was  about  to  proceed.  Having  made  these 
arrangements,  the  governor  set  sail  with  Betts,  Bigelow,  and 
Socrates  for  his  companions,  leaving  Heaton,  with  Peters  and 
Jones,  to  take  care  of  most  of  the  females.  We  say  of  most, 
since  Dido  and  Juno  went  along,  in  order  to  cook,  and  to  wash 
all  the  clothes  of  the  whole  colony,  a  part  of  which  were  sent 
in  the  pinnace,  but  most  of  which  were  on  board  the  ship.  This 
was  a  portion  of  his  duty,  when  a  solitary  man,  to  which  Mark 
was  exceedingly  averse,  and  having  shirts  almost  ad  libitum, 
Bridget  had  found  nearly  a  hundred  ready  for  the  "  buck- 
basket."  There  was  no  danger,  therefore,  that  the  "  wash" 
would  be  too  small. 

Betts  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  change  that  he  found  in 
the  rocks.  There,  where  he  had  left  water  over  which  he 
had  often  floated  his  raft,  appeared  dry  land.  Nor  was  he 
much  less  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the  crater.  It  vras 
now  a  hill  of  a  bright,  lively  verdure,  Kitty  and  her  new  friend 
keeping  it  quite  as  closely  cropped  as  was  desirable.  The  in- 
terior, too,  struck  hint  forcibly ;  for  there,  in  addition  to  the 
garden,  now  flourishing,  though  a  little  in  want  of  the  hoe,  was 
a  meadow  of  acres  in  extent,  in  which  the  grass  was  fit  to  cut. 
Mark  had  observed  this  circumstance  when  last  at  the  crater, 
11 


242  the    crater: 

and  Socrates  had  brought  his  scythe  and  forks,  to  cut  and  euro 
the  hay. 

The  morning  after  the  arrival,  everybody  went  to  work.  The 
women  set  up  their  tubs  under  an  awning  spread  for  that  pur- 
pose near  the  spring,  and  were  soon  up  to  their  elbows  in  suds. 
The  scythe  was  set  in  motion,  and  the  pinnace  was  taken  round 
to  the  ship.  Three  active  seamen  soon  hoisted  out  the  carron- 
ades,  and  stowed  them  in  the  little  sloop.  The  ammunition  fol- 
lowed, and  half  a  dozen  barrels  of  the  beef  and  pork  were  put 
in  the  Neshamony  also.  Mark  scarcely  ever  touched  this  food 
now,  the  fish,  eggs,  chickens,  and  pigs,  keeping  his  larder  suf- 
ficiently well  supplied.  But  some  of  the  men  pined  for  ship's 
provisions — beef  and  pork  that  had  now  been  packed  more  than 
two  i  ira — and  the  governor  thought  it  might  be  well  enough 
to  indulge  them.  The  empty  barrels  would  be  convenient  on 
the  peak,  and  the  salt  would  be  acceptable,  after  being  dried 
and  pulverized. 

din'  day  was  passed  in  loading  the  Neshamony,  and  in  look- 
ing after  various  interests  on  the  reef.  The  hogs  had  all  comu 
in,  and  were  fed.  Mark  shot  one,  and  had  it  dressed,  putting 
most  of  its  meat  into  the  pinnace.  He  also  sent  Bob  out  to  his 
old  place  of  resort,  near  Loam  [sland,  whence  he  brought  back 
near  a  hundred  hog-fish.  These  were  divided,  also,  some  being 
given  to  Dido's  mess,  and  the  rest  put  in  the  pinnace,  after  tak- 
ing out  enough  for  a  good  supper.  About  ten  at  night,  the 
Ne6haniony  sailed,  Mark  carrying  her  out  into  the  open  water, 
when  he  placed  Bob  at  the  helm.  Bigelow  had  remained  in 
the  ship,  to  overhaul  the  lumber,  of  which  there  were  still  large 
piles,  both  betwixt  decks  and  in  the  lower  hold,  as  did  the 
whole  of  the  Socrates  family,  who  were  yet  occupied  with  the 
hay  harvest  and  the  "  wash."  Before  he  lay  down  to  catch  his 
nap,  Mark  took  a  good  look  to  the  southward,  in  quest  of  the 
beacon,  but  it  wras  not  burning — a  sign  the  savages  had  not  ap- 
peared in  the  course  of  the  day.  AVith  this  assurance,  he  fell 
asleep,  and  slept  until  informed  by  Bob  that  the  pinnace  was 
running  beneath  the  cliffs.  Betts  called  him,  because  the  honest 


OR,      VULCAN    8      PEAK.  24 b 

fellow  was  absolutely  at  a  loss  to  know  where  to  find  the  en- 
trance of  the  cove.  So  closely  did  the  rocks  lap,  that  this 
mouth  of  the  harbor  was  most  effectually  concealed  from  all 
but  those  who  happened  to  get  quite  close  in  with  the  cliffs, 
and  in  a  particular  position.  Mark,  himself,  caught  a  glimpse  of 
this  narrow  entrance  accidentally,  on  his  first  voyage,  else  might 
he  have  been  obliged  to  abandon  the  hope  of  getting  on  the 
heights  ;  for  subsequent  examination  showed  that  there  was  but 
that  one  spot  on  the  whole  circuit  of  Vulcan's  Peak,  where  man 
could  ascend  to  the  plain,  without  having  recourse  to  engineer- 
ing and  th"  labor  of  months,  if  not  of  years.r 

Bob  had  brought  along  one  of  the  two  swivels  of  the  ship,  as 
an  armament  fur  the  Neshamony,  and  he  fired  it  under  the  cliffs, 
a-  a  signal  of  her  return.  This  brought  down  all  the  men,  who, 
with  their  united  strength,  dragged  the  carronades  up  the  stairs, 
and  placed  them  in  position.  With  a  view  to  scale  the  guns, 
the  governor  now  had  each  loaded,  with  a  round  shot  and  & 
>f  canister.  The  gun  just  above  the  pass,  he  pointed  him- 
self, at  the  entrance  of  the  cove,  and  touched  it  off.  The  whole 
of  the  missiles  went  into  the  passage,  making  the  water  fairly 
foam  again.  The  other  gun  was  depressed  so  as  to  sweep  the 
stair-,  and,  on  examination,  it  was  found  that  its  shot  had  raked 
the  path  most  effectually  for  a  distance  exceeding  a  hundred 
yards.  Small  magazines  were  made  in  the  rocks,  near  each 
gun,  when  the  most  important  part  of  the  arrangements  for  de- 
fence were  considered  to  be  satisfactorily  made  for  the  present. 
The  remainder  of  the  cargo  was  discharged,  and  got  up  the 
mountain,  though  it  took  three  days  to  effect  the  last.  The 
isions  w.re  opened  below  and  overhauled,  quite  one-half 
of  the  pork  h      2  .lied  to  the  soap-fat,  though  the  beef 

ill  sound  and  sweet.  Sueh  as  was  thought  fit  to  be 
const]  tarried  up  in  baskets,  and  repacked  on  the  moun- 

tain, the  labor  of  rolling  up  the  barrels  satisfying  everybody, 
zperiment.     This  difficulty  set  Mark  to  work  with  his 
wit-,  and  he  found  a  Bhelf  that  overhung  the  landing,  at  a  height 
of  fully  a  hundred  yards  above  it,  where  there  was  a  natural 


244  the    crater: 

platform  of  rock,  that  would  suffice  for  the  parade  of  a  regiment 
of  men.  Here  he  determined  to  rig  a  derrick,  for  there  was  an 
easy  ascent  and  descent  to  this  "platform,"  as  the  place  was 
called,  and  down  which  a  cart  might  go  without  any  difficulty, 
if  a  cart  was  to  he  had.  The  platform  might  also  be  used 
for  musketeers,  in  an  action,  and  on  examining  it,  Mark  deter- 
mine d  to  bring  over  one  of  the  two  long  sixes,  and  mount  it 
there,  with  a  view  to  command  the  offing.  From  that  height  a 
shot  could  be  thrown  in  any  direction,  for  more  than  a  mile 
outside  of  the  harbor. 

Ilcaton  had  seen  no  signs  of  the  canoes,  nor  could  Mark,  at 
any  time  during  the  next  four  days  after  his  return,  though  he 
was  each  day  <>n  the  peak  itself,  to  examine  the  ocean.  On  the 
fifth  day,  therefore,  he  and  Bob  crossed  over  to  the  reef  again, 
taking  Bridget  along  thia  time.  The  latter  delighted  in  the 
ship,  the  cabins  of  which  were  so  much  more  agreeable  and 
comfortable  than  the  tents,  and  which  had  so  long  been  her 
husband's  solitary  abode. 

On  reaching  the  reef,  the  governor  was  greatly  surprised  to 
find  that  Bigelow  had  the  frame  of  a  boat  even  larger  than  the 
pinnace  set  up,  one  that  measured  fourteen  tons,  though  mod- 
elled to  carry,  rather  than  to  sail.  In  overhauling  the  "stuff' 
in  the  ship,  he  had  found  not  only  all  the  materials  for  this 
craft,  but  those  necessary  for  a  boat  a  little  larger  than  the 
Bridget,  which,  it  seems,  had  been  sent  for  the  ordinary  service 
of  the  ship,  should  any  thing  occur  to  occasion  the  loss  of  the 
two  she  commonly  used,  in  addition  to  the  dingui.  These  were 
treasures,  indeed,  vessels  of  this  size  being  of  the  utmost  use  to 
the  colonists.  For  the  next  month,  several  hands  were  kept  at 
work  on  these  two  boats,  when  both  were  got  into  the  water, 
rigged,  and  turned  over  for  duty.  The  largest  boat  of  the  little 
fleet,  which  had  no  deck  at  all,  not  even  forward,  and  which 
was  not  only  lighter-built  but  lighter-rigged,  having  one  large 
sprit-sail  that  brailed,  was  called  the  Mary,  in  honor  of  Hea- 
ton's  mother ;  while  the  jolly-boat  carried  joy  to  the  hearts  of 
the  house  of  Socrates,  by  being  named  the  Dido.     As  she  was 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  245 

painted  black  as  a  crow,  this  appellation  was  not  altogether 
inappropriate,  Soc  declaring,  "  dat'e  boat  did  a  good  deal  favor 
bis  ole  woman." 

While  these  things  were  in  progress,  the  Neshamony  was  not 
idle.  She  made  six  voyages  between  the  reef  and  the  peak  in 
that  month,  carrying  to  the  last,  fish,  fresh  pork,  various  neces- 
saries from  the  ship,  as  well  as  eggs  and  salt.  Some  of  the 
fowls  were  caught  and  transferred  to  the  peak,  as  well  as  half  a 
dozen  of  the  porkers.  The  return  cargo  consisted  of  reed- 
birds,  in  large  quantities,  several  other  varieties  of  birds,  bread- 
fruits, bananas,  yams,  cocoa-nuts,  and  a  fruit  that  Heaton  dis- 
covered, which  was  of  a  most  delicious  flavor,  resembling  straw- 
berries and  cream,  and  which  was  afterward  ascertained  to  be 
the  charamoya,  the  fruit  that,  of  all  others,  when  good,  is 
thought  to  surpass  every  thing  else  of  that  nature.  Bridget  also 
picked  a  basket  of  famously  large  wild  strawberries  on  the  Sum- 
mit, and  sent  them  to  Anne.  In  return,  Anne  sent  her  sister, 
not  only  cream  and  milk,  by  each  passage,  but  a  little  'fresh 
butter.  The  calves  had  been  weaned,  and  the  two  cows  were 
now  giving  their  largest  quantity  of  milk,  furnishing  almost  as 
much  butter  as  was  wanted. 

At  the  crater,  Socrates  put  every  thing  in  order.  He  mowed 
the  grass,  and  made  a  neat  stack  of  it  in  the  centre  of  the  mead- 
ow. He  cleaned  the  garden  thoroughly,  and  made  some 
arrangements- for  enlarging  it,  though  the  yield,  now,  was  quite 
as  great  as  all  the  colonists  could  consume ;  for,  no  sooner  was 
one  vegetable  dug,  or  cut,  than  another  was  put  in  its  place. 
On  the  peak,  Peters,  who  was  half  a  farmer,  dug  over  an  acre 
or  two  of  rich  loam,  and  made  a  fence  of  brush,  with  a  view  of 
having  a  garden  in  Eden.  Really,  it  almost  seemed  super- 
fluous ;  though  those  who  had  been  accustomed  to  salads,  and 
beans,  and  beets,  and  onion-,  and  cucumbers,  and  all  the  other 
common  vegetables  of  a  civilized  kitchen,  soon  began  to  weary 
of  the  more  luscious  fruits  of  the  tropics.  With  the  wild  tigs, 
however,  Heaton,  who  \\a<  a  capital  horticulturist,  fancied  he 
could    do   something.     He  picked  out  three  or   four  thriving 


246  the    crater: 

young  trees  of  that  class,  which  bore  fruit  a  little  better  flavored 
than  most  around  them,  and  cut  away  all  their  neighbors,  let- 
ting in  the  sun  and  air  freely.  lie  also  trimmed  their  branches, 
and  dug  around  the  roots,  which  he  refreshed  wdth  guano,  the 
use  of  which  had  been  imparted  by  Mark  to  his  fellow-colonists, 
though  Bigelow  knew  all  about  it  from  having  lived  in  Peru, 
and  Bob  had  early  let  the  governor  himself  into  the  secret. 

The  governor  and  his  lady,  as  the  community  now  began  to 
term  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mark  Woolston,  were  on  the  point  of  cm- 
barking  in  the  Neshamony,  to  visit  Vulcan's  Peak,  after  a  resi- 
dence on  the  reef  of  more  than  a  month,  when  the  orders  for 
sailing  were  countermanded,  in  consequence  <>f  certain  signs  in 
the  atmosphere,  which  indicated  something  like  another  hurri- 
;  ii'  .  The  tempesl  came,  and  iii  good  earnest,  but  without  any 
of  the  disastrous  consequences  which  had  attended  that  of  the 
previous  year.  It  blew  fearfully,  and  the  water  was  driven  into 
*lj  the  Bounds,  creeks,  channels,  and  hays  of  the  group,  bringing 
many  of  the  islands,  isthmuses,  peninsulas,  and  plains  of  rock, 
what  the  seamen  call  "awash,"  though  no  material  portion  was 
actually  overflowed.  At  the  reef  itself,  the  water  rose  a  fathom, 
but  it  did  not  reach  the  surface  of  the  island  by  several  feet,  and 
all  passed  off  without  any  other  consequences  than  giving  the 
new  colonists  a  taste  of  the  climate. 

Mark,  on  this  occasion,  for  the  first  time,  noted  a  change  that 
was  gradually  taking  place  on  the  surface  of  the  reef,  without 
the  crater.  Most  of  its  cavities  were  collecting  deposits,  that 
were  derived  from  various  sources — sea-weed,  offals,  refuse  stuff 
of  all  kinds,  the  remains  of  the  deluge  of  fish  that  occurred 
the  past  year,  and  all  the  indescribable  atoms  that  ever  contrib- 
ute to  form  soil  in  the  neighborhood  of  man.  There  were 
many  spots  on  the  reef,  of  acres  in  extent,  that  formed  shallow 
basins,  in  which  the  surface  might  be  two  or  three  inches  lower 
than  the  surrounding  rocks,  and  in  these  spots  in  particular, 
the  accumulations  of  an  incipient  earthy  matter  #were  plainly 
visible.  As  these  cavities  collected  and  retained  the  moisture, 
usually  from  rain  to  rain,  Mark  had  some  of  Friend  Abraham 


OR,     VULCAN     S      PEAK.  247 

"White's  grass  seed  sown  over  them,  in  order  to  aid  nature  in 
working  out  her  own  benevolent  designs.  In  less  than  a  month, 
patches  of  green  began  to  appear  on  the  dusky  rocks,  and  there 
was  good  reason  to  hope  that  a  few  years  would  convert  the 
whole  reef  into  a  smiling,  verdant  plain.  It  was  true,  the  soil 
could  not  soon  obtain  any  useful  depth,  except  in  limited  spots ; 
but  in  that  climate,  where  warmth  and  moisture  united  to  push 
vegetation  to  the  utmost,  it  was  an  easy  thing  to  obtain  a  bot- 
tom for  grasses  of  almost  all  kinds.' 

Nor  did  Mark's  provident  care  limit  itself  to  this  one  instance 
of  forethought.  Socrates  was  sent  in  the  dingui  to  the  prairie, 
over  which  the  hogs  had  now  been  rooting  for  fully  two  months, 
mixing  together  mud  and  sea-weed,  somewhat  loosely  it  is  true, 
but  very  extensively ;  and  there  he  scattered  Timothy  seed  in 
tolerable  profusion.  Socrates  was  a  long-headed,  as  well  as  a 
long-footed  fellow,  and  he  brought  back  from  this  expedition  a 
report  that  was  of  material  importance  to  the  future  husbandry 
of  the  colonists.  According  to  his  statement,  this  large  deposit 
of  mud  and  sea-weed  lay  on  a  peninsula,  that  might  be  barri- 
caded against  the  inroads  of  hogs,  cattle,  etc.,  by  a  fence  of 
some  two  or  three  rods  in  length.  This  was  a  very  favorable 
circumstance,  where  wood  was  to  be  imported  for  many  years 
to  come,  if  not  forever ;  though  the  black  had  brought  the 
seeds  of  certain  timbers  from  the  peak,  ^nd  put  them  into  the 
ground  in  a  hundred  places  on  the  reef,  where  the  depth  of  de- 
posit, and  other  circumstances,  seemed  favorable  to  their  growth. 
As  for  the  prairie,  could  it  be  made  to  grow  grasses,  it  would 
be  a  treasure  to  the  colony,  inasmuch  as  its  extent  reached  folly 
to  a  thousand  acres.  The  examination  of  Socrates  was  natter- 
ing in  other  respects.  The  mud  was  already  dry,  and  the  de- 
posit of  salt  did  not  seem  to  be  very  great,  little  water  having 
been  left  there  after  the  eruption,  or  lifting  of  the  earth's  crust. 
The  rains  had  done  much,  and  certain  coarse,  natural  gr 
were  beginning  to  show  themselves  in  various  parts  of  the  field. 
As  the  hogs  would  not  be  likely  to  root  over  the  same  spot 
twice,  it  was  not  proposed  to  exclude  them,  but  they  were  per- 


248  the    crater: 

niitted  to  range  over  the  field  a1  pleasure,  in  the  hope  that  they 
would  add  t©  its  fertility  by  mixing  the  materials  i*<>r  soil.  In 
Buch  a  climate,  every  change  of  a  vegetable  character  was  ex- 
tremely  rapid,  and  now  that  no  one  thought  of  abandoning  the 
settlement,  it  was  very  desirable  to  obtain  the  different  benefits 
of  civilization  as  soon  as  possible. 

All  the  blacks  remained  at  the  reef,  where  Mark  himself 
I  e  good  deal  of  his  time.  In  their  next  visit  to  the 
peak,  they  found  things  nourishing,  and  the  garden  looking 
particularly  well.  The  Vulcanists  had  their  melons  in  any 
quantity,  as  well  as  most  vegetables  without  limits.  It  was  de- 
termined to  divide  the  cows,  leaving  one  on  the  peak,  and 
sending  the  other  to  the  crater,  where  there  was  dow  sufficient 
grass  to  keep  two  or  three  such  animals.  With  a  view  to  this 
arrangement,  Bob  had  been  directed  to  fence  in  the  garden  and 
stack,  by  means  of  ropes  and  stanchions  let  into  the  ground. 
When  the  Anne  returned  to  the  reef,  therefore,  from  her  first 
voyage  to  the  peak,  a  cow  was  sent  over  in  her.  This  change 
was  made  solely  for  the  convenience  of  the  milk,  all  the  rest  of 
the  large  stock  being  retained  on  the  plain,  where  there  was 
sufficient  grass  to  sustain  thousands  of  hoot's. 

Bui  the  return  cargo  of  the  Anne,  on  this,  her  first  voyage, 
lomposed  mainly  of  ship-timber.  Ileaton  had  found  a 
variety  of  the  teak  in  the  forests  that  skirted  the  plain,  and 
Bigelow  had  got  out  of  the  trees  the  frame  of  a  schooner 
that  was  intended  to  measure  about  eighty  tons.  A  craft  of 
that  size  would  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  them,  as  it  would 
enable  the  colonists  to  visit  any  part  of  the  Pacific  they  pleased, 
and  obtain  such  supplies  as  they  might  find  necessary.  Nor 
this  all;  by  mounting  on  her  two  of  the  carronades,  she 
would  effectually  give  them  the  command  of  their  own  seas,  so 
far  as  the  natives  were  concerned,  at  least.  Mark  had  some 
books  on  the  draughting  of  vessels,  and  Bigelow  had  once  be- 
fore laid  down  a  brig  of  more  than  a  hundred  tons  in  dimen- 
sions. Then  the  stores,  rigging,  copper,  etc.,  of  the  ship, 
could  never  be  turned  to  better  account  than  in  the  construction 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  249 

of  another  vessel,  and  it  was  believed  she  could  furnish  materials 
enough  for  two  or  three  such  craft.  Out  of  compliment  to  hia 
old  owner,  Mark  named  this  schooner  in  embryo,  the  "  Friend 
Abraham  White,"  though  she  was  commonly  known  afterward 
as  the  "Abraham." 

The  cutting  of  the  frame  of  the  intended  schooner  was  a 
thing  easy  enough,  with  expert  American  axemen,  and  with 
that  glorious  implement  of  civilization,  the  American  axe.  But 
it  was  not  quite  so  easy  to  get  the  timber  down  to  the  cove. 
The  keel,  in  particular,  gave  a  good  deal  of  trouble.  Heaton 
had  brought  along  with  him  both  cart  and  wagon  wheels,  and 
without  them  it  is  questionable  if  the  stick  could  have  been 
moved  by  any  force  then  at  the  command  of  the  colony.  By 
suspending  it  in  chains  beneath  the  axles,  however,  it  was 
found  possible  to  draw  it,  though  several  of  the  women  had  to 
lend  their  aid  in  moving  the  mass.  When  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs,  the  timber  was  lowered  on  the  rock,  and  was  slid  down- 
ward, with  occasional  lifts  by  the  crowbar  and  handspike. 
"When  it  reached  the  water  it  was  found  to  be  much  too  heavy 
to  float,  and  it  was  by  no  means  an  easy  matter  to  buoy  it  up 
in  such  a  way  that  it  might  be  towed.  The  Anne  was  three 
times  as  long  making  her  passage  with  this  keel  in  tow,  as  she 
was  without  it.  It  was  done,  however,  and  the  laying  of  the 
keel  was  effected  with  some  little  ceremony,  in  the  presence  of 
nearly  every  soul  belonging  to  the  colon  v. 

The  getting  out  and  raising  of  the  frame  of  the  Friend 
Abraham  White  took  six  weeks.  Great  importance  was  at- 
tached to  success  in  this -matter,  and  everybody  assisted  in  the 
work  with  right  good  will.  At  one  time  it  was  doubted  if 
stuff  enough  could  be  found  in  the  ship  to  plank  her  up  with, 
and  it  was  thought  it  might  become  necessary  to  break  up  the 
Rancocus,  in  order  to  complete  the  job.  To  Bridge 
joy,  however,  the  good  old  Rancocus — as  they  called  her, 
though  she  was  even  then  only  eight  years  old — the  good  old 
Rancocus1  time  had  not  yet  come,  and  she  was  able  to  live  in 
her  cabiu  for  some  months  longer.  Enough  planks  were  found 
11* 


J">0  »  the    crater: 

by  using  those  of  the  'twixt  decks,  a  part  of  which  were  not 
'bolted  down  at  all,  to  accomplish  all  that  was  wanted. 

Heaton  was  a  man  of  singular  tastes,  which  led  him  to  as 
remarkable  acquirements.  Among  other  accomplishments,  he 
was  a  very  good  general  mechanician,  having  an  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  most  of  the  ordinary  machinery  ought  to  be, 
not  only  used,  but  fabricated.  At  the  point  where  the  rivulet 
descended  the  cliff  into  the  sea,  he  discovered  as  noble  a  mill- 
seal  as  the  heart  of  man  could  desire  to  possess.  To  have  such 
a  mill-seat  at  command,  and  not  to  use  it,  would,  of  itself,  have 
made  him  unhappy,  and  he  could  not  be  easy  until  he  and 
Peters,  who  had  also  a  gnat  taste  and  some  skill  in  that  sort  of 
thing,  were  bard  at  work  building  a  saw-mill.  The  saw  had 
been  brought  from  America,  as  a  thing  very  likely  to  be  wanted, 
and  three  months  after  these  two  ingenious  men  had  com- 
menced their  work,  the  saw  was  going,  cutting  teak,  as  well  as 
a  species  of  excellent  yellow  pine  that  was  found  in  consider- 
able quantities,  and  of  very  respectable  size,  along  the  cliffs  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  ofthe  mill.  The  great  difficulty  to  be 
overcome  in  that  undertaking,  was  the  transportation  of  the 
timber.  By  cutting  the  trees  most  favorably  sitnated  first,  logs 
were  got  into  the  pond  without  much  labor ;  but  after  they 
were  iu  planks,  or  boards,  or  joists,  they  were  quite  seven  miles 
from  the  bead  of  the  stairs,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  it  was,  on 
Beveral  accounts,  the  most  desirable  to  dwell.  Had  the  Abra- 
ham been  kept  on  the  stocks  until  the  necessary  timber  was 
brought  from  the  mill,  across  the  plain  of  Eden,  she  would  have 
been  well  seasoned  before  launching ;.  but,  fortunately,  that  was 
not  necessary — materials  sufficient  for  her  were  got  on  board 
the  ship,  as  mentioned,  with  some  small  additions  of  inch  boards 
that  were  cut  to  finish  her  joiners'  work. 

Months  passed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  while  the  schooner  and 
the  mill  were  in  the  course  of  construction.  The  work  on  the 
first  was  frequently  intermitted,  by  little  voyages  in  the  other 
craft,  and  by  labor  necessary  to  be  done  in  preparing  dwellings 
on  the  peak,  to  meet  the  rainy  season,  which  was  now  again 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  251 

near  at  hand.  Past  experience  had  told  Mark  that  the  wintei 
months  in  his  islands — if  winter  a  season  could  be  termed,  dur- 
ing which  most  of  the  trees,  all  the  grasses,  and  many  of  the 
fruits  continued  to  grow  and  ripen  as  in  summer — were  not  very 
formidable.  It  is  true,  it  then  rained  nearly  every  day,  but  it 
was  very  far  from  raining  all  clay.  Most  of  the  rain,  in  fact,  fell 
at  night,  commencing  a  little  after  the  turn  in  the  day,  and 
terminating  about  midnight.  Still,  it  must  be  very  unpleasant 
to  pass  such  a  season  beneath  canvas,  and,  about  six  weeks  ere 
the  wet  time  commenced,  everybody  turned  to,  with  a  will,  to 
erect  proper  framed  houses.  Now  that  the  mill  was  sawing, 
this  was  no  great  task,  the  pine  working  beautifully  and  easily 
into  almost  every  article  required. 

Heaton  laid  out  his  house  with  some  attention  to  taste,  and 
more  to  comfort.  It  was  of  one  story,  but  fully  a  hundred  feet 
in  length,  and  of  half  that  in  depth.  Being  a  common  Amer- 
ican dwelling  that  was  clap-boarded,  it  was  soon  put  up  and 
enclosed,  the  climate  requiring  very  little  attention  to  warmth. 
There  were  windows,  and  even  glass,  a  small  quantity  of  that 
article  having  been  brought  along  by  the  colonists.  The  floors 
were  beautiful,  and  extremely  well  laid  down  ;  nor  were  the 
doors,  window-shutters,  etc.,  neglected.  The  whole,  moreover, 
was  painted,  the  stores  of  the  ship  still  furnishing  the  neces-arv 
materials.  But  there  was  neither  chimney  nor  plastering,  for 
Heaton  had  neither  bricks  nor  lime.  Bricks  he  insisted  he 
could  and  would  make,  and  did,  though  in  no  great  number ; 
but  lime  for  some  time  baffled  his  ingenuity.  At  last,  Socrates 
suggested  the  burning  of  oyster-shells,  and  by  dint  of  fishing  a 
good  deal,  among  the  channels  of  the  reef,  a  noble  oyster-bed 
was  found,  and  the  boats  brought  in  enough  of  the  shells  to 
furnish  as  much  lime  as  would  put  up  a  chimney  for  the  kitchen  ; 
one  apartment  for  that  sort  of  work  being  made,  as  yet,  to  suf- 
fice for  the  wants  of  all*  who  dwelt  in  Eden. 

These    various   occupations   and   interests   consumed  many 
months,  and  carried  the  new-comers  through  the  first  wei 
son  which  thev  encountered  as  a  colony,     ks  everybody  was 


252  the    crater: 

busy,  plenty  reigned,  and  the  climate  being  so  very  delicious  as 
to  produce  a  sense  of  enjoyment  in  the  very  fact  of  existence, 
everybody  but  Peters  was  happy.  He,  poor  fellow,  mourned 
much  for  his  Peggy,  as  he  called  the  pretty  young  heathen  wife 
he  had  left  behind  him  in  Waally's  country. 


ok,    vulcan's    peak.  253 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

u  Forthwith  a  guard  at  every  gun 
Was  placed  along  the  wall  ; 
The  heacon  blazed  upon  the  roof 

Of  Edgecombe's  lofty  hall ; 
And  many  a  fishing  bark  put  out, 

To  pry  along  the  coast ; 
And  with  loose  rein,  and  bloody  spur, 
Rode  inland  many  a  post.1'  ' 

The  Spanish  Abmada. — Maoauxby. 

The  building  of  the  houses,  and  of  the  schooner,  was  occupa- 
tion for  everybody,  for  a  long  time.  The  first  were  completed 
in  season  to  escape  the  rains ;  but  the  last  was  on  the  stocks 
fully  six  months  after  her  keel  had' been  laid.  The  fine  weather 
had  returned,  even,  and  she  was  not  yet  launched.  So  long  a 
period  had  intervened  since  Waally's  visit  to  Rancocus  Island 
without  bringing  any  results,  that  the  council  began  to  hope  the 
Indians  had  given  up  their  enterprises,  from  the  consciousness 
of  not  having  the  means  to  carry  them  out ;  and.  almost  every 
one  ceased  to  apprehend  danger  from  that  quarter.  In  a  word, 
so  smoothly  did  the  current  of  life  flow  on  the  reef,  and  at  Vul- 
can's Peak,  that  there  was  probably  more  danger  of  their  in- 
habitants falling  into  the  common  and  fatal  error  of  men  in 
'prosperity,  than  of  any  thing  else;  ©r,  of  their  beginning  t<> 
fancy  that  they  deserved  all  the  blessings  that  were  conferred  on 
them,  and  forgetting  the  hand  that  bestowed  them.  As  if  to 
recall  them  to  a  better  sense  of  things,  events  now  occurred 
which  it  is  our  business  to  relate,  and  which  aroused  the  whole 
colony  from  the  sort  of  pleasing  trance  into  which  they  had 
fallen  by  the  united  influence  of  security,  abundance,  and  a 
most  seductive  climate. 


254  the    crater: 

As  time  rolled  on,  in  the  first  place,  the  number  of  the  colony 
had  begun  to  augment  by  natural  means.  Friend  Martha  had 
presented  Friend  Robert  with  a  little  Robert;  and  Bridget 
made  Mark  the  happy  parent  of  a  very  charming  girl.  This 
last  event  occurred  about  the  commencement  of  the  summer, 
and  just  a  twelvemonth  after  the  happy  reunion  of  the  young 
couple.  According  to  Mark's  prophecy,  Jones  had  succeeded 
with  Joan,  and  they  were  married  even  before  the  expiration  of 
the  six  months  mentioned.  On  the  subject  of  a  marriage  cere- 
mony then.-  was  no  difficulty,  Robert  and  Martha  holding  a 
Friends1  meeting  especially  to  quiet  the  scruples  of  the  bride, 
though  Bhe  was  assured  the  form  could  do  no  good,  since  the 
bridegroom  did  not  belong  to  meeting.  The  governor  read  the 
church  service  on  the  occasion,  too,  which  did  no  harm,  if  it 
did  no  good.  About  this  time  poor  Peters,  envying  the  happi- 
ness of  all  around  him,  and  still  pining  for  his  Petrina,  or  Peggy, 
as  he  called  her  himself,  begged  of  the  governor  the  use  of  the 
Dido,  in  order  that  he  might  make  a  voyage  to  Waally's  group 
in  (piest  of  his  lost  companion.  Mark  knew  how  to  feel  for  one 
in  the  poor  fellow's  situation,  and  he  could  not  think  of  letting 
him  go  alone  on  an  expedition  of  so  much  peril.  After  delib- 
erating on  the  matter,  he  determined  to  visit  Rancocus  Island 
himself — not  having  been  in  that  direction,  now,  for  months — 
and  to  go  in  the  Neshamony,  in  order  to  take  a  couple  of  hogs 
over;  it  having  long  been  decided  to  commence  breeding  that 
valuable  animal,  in  the  wild  state,  on  the  hills  of  that  uninhabit- 
ed land. 

The  intelligence  that  a  voyage  was  to  be  made  to  Rancocus 
Island  seemed  to  infuse  new  life  into  the  men  of  the  colony, 
every  one  of  whom  wished  to  be  of  the  party.  The  governor 
had  no  objection  to  indulging  as  many  as  it  might  be  prudent 
to  permit  to  go  ;  but  he  sawr  the  necessity  of  putting  some  re- 
straint on  the  movement.  After  canvassing  the  matter  in  the 
council,  it  was  determined  that,  in  addition  to  Mark  and  Peters, 
who  went  of  course,  the  party  should  consist  of  Bob,  Bigelow, 
and  Socrates.     The  carpenter  was  taken  to  look  for  trees  that 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  255 

might  serve  to  make  the  ways  of  the  schooner,  which  was  yet 
to  be  launched  ;  and  the  latter  was  thought  necessary  in  his  ca- 
pacity of  a  cook.  As  for  Betts,  he  went  along  as  the  gover- 
nor's counsellor  and  companion. 

Bridget's  little  girl  was  born  in  the  cabin  of  the  ship  ;  and 
the  week  preceding  that  set  for  the  voyage,  she  and  the  child 
were  taken  across  to  the  peak,  that  the  former  might  spend  the 
period  of  her  husband's  absence  with  Anne,  in  the  garden  of 
Eden.  These  absences  and  occasional  visits  gave  a  zest  to 
lives  that  might  otherwise  have  become  too  monotonous,  and 
were  rather  encouraged  than  avoided.  It  was,  perhaps,  a  little 
strange  that  Bridget  rather  preferred  the  reef  than  the  peak  foi 
a  permanent  residence;  but  there  was  her  much-beloved  ship, 
and  there  she  ever  had  her  still  more  beloved  husband  for  a 
companion. 

On  the  appointed  day,  the  Neshamony  set  sail,  having  on 
board  a  family  of  three  of  the  swine.  The  plan  for  the  excur- 
sion included  a  trip  to  the  volcano,  which  had  not  yet  been 
actually  visited  by  any  of  the  colonists.  Mark  had  been  within 
a  league  of  it,  and  Boh  had  passed  quite  near  to  it  in  his  voy- 
age to  the  peak  ;  but  no  one  had  ever  positively  landed,  or 
made  any  of  those  close  examinations  of  the  place,  which,  be- 
sides being  of  interest  in  a  general  way,  was  doubly  so  to  those 
who  were  Buch  mar  neighbors  to  a  place  of  the  kind.  This 
vi>it  Mark  now  decided  to  make  on  his  way  to  leeward,  taking 
the  volcano  in  his  course  to  Rancocus  Island.  The  detour 
would  lead  the  Neshamony  some  fifteen  or  eighteen  leagues  on 
in'  aide;  but  there  was  abundance  of  time,  and  the  volcano 
ought  to  be  no  longer  neglected. 

The  wind  did  not  blow  as  fresh  as  in  common,  and  the  Nesh- 
amony did  not  draw  near  to  the  volcano  until  late  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  day  she  sailed.  The  party  approached  this  place 
with  due  caution,  and  not  without  a  good  deal  of  awe.  As  the 
lead  was  used,  it    was   found   that   the  water  shoaled   gradually 

for  several  leagues,  1 ning  leas  and   less  deep  as  the  boat 

drew  near  to  the  cone,  which  was  itself  a  circular  and  very  reg- 


256  the    crater: 

ular  mountain,  of  some  six  or  eight  hundred  feet  in  height, 
with  a  foundation  of  dry  rock  and  lava,  that  might  have  con- 
tained a  thousand  acres.  Every  thing  seemed  solid  and  perma- 
nent ;  and  our  mariners  were  of  opinion  there  was  very  little 
danger  of  this  formation  ever  disappearing  helow  the  surface  of 
the  sea  again. 

The  volcano  being  in  activity,  some  care  was  necessary  in 
landing.  .Mark  took  the  Neshamony  to  windward,  and  found 
;i  curvature  in  the  rocks  where  it  was  possible  to  get  ashore 
without  having  the  boat  knocked  to  pieces.  He  and  Bob  then 
went  as  near  the  cone  as  the  falling  stones  would  allow,  and 
took  as  good  a  survey  of  the  place  as  could  be  done  under  the 
circumstances,  That  there  would  he  soil,  and  plenty  <>!'  it, 
sooner  or  later,  was  plain  enough;  and  that  the  island  might 
become  a  scene  of  fertility  and  loveliness,  in  the  course  of 
ages,  like  so  many  others  of  volcanic  origin  in  that  quarter  of 
the  world,  was  probable.  But  that  day  was  distant ;  and 
Mark  was  soon  satisfied  that  the  great  use  of  the  spot  was  its 
being  a  vent  to  what  would  otherwise  be  the  pent  and  danger- 
ous forces  that  were  in  the  course  of  a  constant  accumulation 
beneath. 

The  party  had  been  about  an  hour  on  the  island,  and  was 
about  to  quit  it,  when  a  most  startling  discovery  was  made. 
Bob  saw  a  canoe  drawn  close  in  among  the  rocks  to  leeward, 
and,  on  a  further  examination,  a  man  was  seen  near  it.  At 
first,  this  was  taken  as  an  indication  of  hostilities,  but  on  get- 
ting a  second  look,  our  mariners  were  satisfied  that  nothing 
of  that  sort  was  to  be  seriously  apprehended.  It  was  deter- 
mined to  go  nearer  to  the  stranger,  at  once,  and  learn  the  whole 
truth. 

A  cry  from  Peters,  followed  by  his  immediately  springing 
forward  to  meet  a  second  person,  who  had  left  the  canoe,  and 
who  was  bounding  like  a  young  antelope  to  meet  him,  ren- 
dered every  thing  clear  sooner  even  than  had  been  anticipated. 
All  supposed  that  this  eager  visitor  was  a  woman,  and  no  one 
doubted   that   it   was   Peggy,   the  poor   fellow's  Indian  wife. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  257 

Peggy  it  proved  to  be  ;  and  after  the  weeping,  and  laughing, 
and  caressing  of  the  meeting  were  a  little  abated,  the  follow- 
ing explanation  was  made  by  Peters,  who  spoke  the  language 
of  his  wife  with  a  good  deal  of  facility,  and  who  acted  as  inter- 
preter. 

-According  to  the  accounts  now  given  by  Peggy,  the  warfare 
between  Ooroony  and  Waally  had  been  kept  up  with  renewed 
vigor,  subsequently  to  the  escape  of  Jones  and  her  own  husband. 
Fortune  had  proved  fickle,  as  so  often  happens,  and  Waally  got 
to  be  in  the  ascendant.  His  enemy  was  reduced  to  great  straits, 
and  had  been  compelled  to  confine  himself  to  one  of  the  smallest 
islands  of  the  group,  where  he  was  barely  able  to  maintain  his 
party  by  means  of  the  most  vigilant  watchfulness.  This  left 
Waally  at  liberty  to  pursue  his  intention  of  following  the  party 
of  whites,  which  was  known  to  have  gone  to  the  southward  with 
so  much  valuable  property,  as  well  as  to  extend  his  conquests, 
by  taking  possession  of  the  mountain  visited  by  him  the  year  pre- 
viously. A  grand  expedition  was  accordingly  planned,  and  a  hun- 
dred canoes  had  actually  sailed  from  the  group,  with  more  than 
a  thousand  warriors  on  board,  bent  on  achieving  a  great  exploit. 
In  this  expedition,  Unus,  the  brother  of  Peggy,  had  been  com- 
pelled to  join,  being  a  warrior  of  some  note,  and  the  sister  had 
come  along,  in  common  with  some  fifty  other  women ;  the  rank 
of  Unus  and  Peggy  not  being  sufficient  to  attract  atten- 
tion to  their  proceedings.  Waally  had  postponed  this,  which 
he  intended  for  the  great  enterprise  of  a  very  turbulent  life, 
t<>  the  most  favorable  season  of  the  year.  There  was  a  period 
of  a  few  weeks  every  summer,  when  the  trades  blew  much 
less  violently  than  was  usually  the  case,  and  when,  indeed,  it 
was  no  unusual  thing  to  have  shifts  of  wind,  as  well  as  light 
bieezes.  All  this  the  Indians  perfectly  well  understood,  for 
they  were  bold  navigators,  when  the  sizes  and  qualities  of  their 
Is  were  considered.  As  it  appeared,  the  voyage  from  the 
group  to  Rancocus  Island,  a  distance  of  fully  a  hundred  Ieag 
was  effected  without  any  accident,  and  the  whole  of  that  formid- 
able force  was  safely  landed  at  the  very  spot  where  Betts  had 


258  the    crater: 

encamped  on  his  arrival  out  with  the  colonists.  Nearly  a  month 
had  been  passed  in  exploring  the  mountain — the  first  consider- 
able eminence  most  of  the  Indians  had  ever  beheld — and  in 
making  their  preparations  for  further  proceedings.  During  that 
time,  hundreds  had  seen  Vulcan's  Peak,  as  well  as  the  smoke 
of  the  volcano,  though  the  reef,  with  all  its  islands,  lay  too  low 
to  be  discerned  from  Buch  a  distance.  The  peak  was  now  the 
great  object  to  be  attained,  for  there  it  was  universally  believed 
thai  Betto  (meaning  Betts)  and  his  companions  had  concealed 
themselves  and  their  much-coveted  treasures.  Rancocus  Island 
was  well  enough,  and  Waally  made  all  his  plans  for  colonizing 
ii  at  once,  but  the  other,  and  distanl  mountain,  no  doubt,  was 
the  most  desirable  territory  to  possess,  or  white  men  would  not 
have  brought  their  women  so  far  in  order  to  occupy  it. 

A-  a  matter  of  course,  Onus  and  Peggy  learned  the  nature  of 
the  intended  proceedings.  The  last  might  have  been  content  to 
wa'*  for  the  slower  movements  of  the  expedition,  had  she  not 
ascertained  that  threats  of  severely  punishing  the  two  deserters, 
one  of  whom  was  her  own  husband,  had  been  heard  to  fall  from 
the  lips  of  the  dread  Waally  himself.  No  sooner,  therefore,  did 
this  faithful  Indian  girl  become  mistress  of  the  intended  plan, 
than  she  gave  her  brother  no  peace  until  he  consented  to  put 
off  into  the  ocean  with  her,  in  a  canoe:  she  had  brought  from 
home,  and  which  was  her  own  property.  Had  not  Unus  been 
disaffected  to  his  new  chief,  this  might  not  so  easily  have  teen 
done,  but  the  young  Indian  was  deadly  hostile  to  Waally,  and 
was  a  secret  friend  of  Ooroony  ;  a  state  of  feeling  which  dispos- 
ed him  to  desert  the  former,  at  the  first  good  opportunity. 

The  two  adventurers  put  off  from  Rancocus  Island  just  at 
dark,  and  paddled  in  the  direction  that  they  believed  would 
carry  them  to  the  peak.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  last 
could  not  be  seen  from  the  ocean,  until  about  half  the  passage 
between  the  islands  was  made,  though  it  was  plainly  apparent 
from  the  heights  of  Rancocus,  as  already  mentioned.  Next 
morning,  when  day  returned,  the  smoke  of  the  volcano  was  in 
sight,  but  no  peak.     There  is  little  question  that  the  canoe  had 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  259 

been  set  too  much  to  the  southward,  and  was  diagonally  reced- 
ing from  its  desired  point  of  debarkation,  instead  of  approaching 
it.  Toward  the  smoke  Onus  and  his  sister  continued  to  pad- 
dle, and,  after  thirty-six  hours  of  nearly  unremitted  labor,  they 
succeeded  in  landing  at  the  volcano,  ignorant  of  its  nature,  awe- 
struck and  trembling,  but  compelled  to  seek  a  refuge  there,  as  tbe 
land-bird  rests  its  tired  wing  on  the  sbip's  spars,  when  driven 
from  tbe  coast  by  the  unexpected  gale.  When  discovered,  Peg- 
gy and  her  brother  were  about  to  take  a  fresh  start  from  their 
resting-place,  the  peak  being  visible  from  the  volcano. 

Mark  questioned  these  two  friends  concerning  the  contem- 
plated movement  of  Waally,  with  great  minuteness.  TJnus  was 
intelligent  for  a  savage,  and  appeared  to  understand  himself 
perfectly.  He  was  of  opinion  that  his  countrymen  would  en- 
deavor to  cross,  the  first  calm  day,  or  tbe  first  day  wben  the 
breeze  should  be  light ;  and  that  was  just  the  time  when  our 
colonists  did  not  desire  to  meet  the  savages  out  at  sea.  He 
described  the  party  as  formidable  by  numbers  and  resolution, 
though  possessing  few  arms  besides  those  of  savages.  There 
were  half  a  dozen  old  muskets  in  the  canoes,  with  a  small  sup- 
ply of  ammunition  ;  but  since  the  desertion  of  Jones  and  Peters, 
no  one  remained  who  knew  how  to  turn  these  weapons  to  much 
account.  Nevertheless,  the  natives  were  so  numerous,  possessed 
bo  many  weapons  that  were  formidable  in  their  own  modes  of 
fighting,  and  were  so  bent  on  success,  that  TJnus  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  give  it  as  his  opinion,  the  colonists  would  act  wisely  in 
standing  off  for  some  otber  island,  if  they  knew  where  another 
lay,  even  at  the  cost  of  abandoning  most  of  their  effects. 

But  our  governor  had  no  idea  of  following  any  such  advice, 
lie  was  fully  aware  of  the  >trength  of  his  position  on  the  peak, 
and  felt  no  disposition  to  abandon  it.  His  great  apprehension 
was  for  the  reef,  where  his  territories  were  much  more  assail- 
able. It  was  not  easy  to  see  how  tbe  crater,  and  ship,  and  the 
schooner  on  the  stocks,  and  all  the  other  property  that,  in  the 
shape  of  hogs,  poultry,  etc.,  was  scattered  far  and  wide  in  that 
group,  could  be  protected  against  a  hundred  canoes,  by  any 


2G0  the    crater: 

force  at  his  command.  Even  with  the  addition  of  Unus,  who 
took  service  at  once,  with  all  his  heart,  among  his  new  friends, 
Mark  could  muster  but  eight  men,  viz. :  himself,  Heaton,  Betts, 
Bigelow,  Socrates,  Peters,  Jones,  and  Unus.  To  these  might 
possibly  be  added  two  or  three  of  the  women,  who  might  be 
serviceable  in  carrying  ammunition,  and  as  sentinels,  while  the 
remainder  would  be  required  to  look  after  the  children,  to  care 
for  the  stock,  etc.  All  these  facts  passed  through  Mark's  mind, 
as  Peters  translated  the  communication  of  Unus,  sentence  by 
sentence. 

It  was  indispensable  to  come  to  some  speedy  decision.  Pe- 
ters was  now  happy  and  contented  with  his  nice  little  Peggy, 
and  there  was  no  longer  any  necessity  for  pursuing  the  voyage 
on  his  account.  As  for  the  project  of  placing  the  hogs  on 
Rancocns,  this  was  certainly  not  the  time  to  do  it,  even  if  it 
were  now  to  be  done  at  all ;  we  say  "  now,"  since  the  visits  of 
the  savages  would  make  any  species  of  property  on  that  island, 
from  this  time  henceforth,  very  insecure.  It  was  therefore  de- 
termined to  abandon  the  voyage,  and  to  shape  their  course  back 
to  the  peak,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  As  there  were 
indications  of  shell-fish,  sea-weed,  etc.,  being  thrown  ashore  at 
the  volcano,  two  of  the  hogs  were  put  ashore  there  to  seek 
their  fortunes.  According  to  the  new  plan,  the  Ncshamony 
made  sail  on  her  return  passage,  about  an  hour  before  the  sun 
set.  As  was  usual  in  that  strait,  the  trades  blew  pretty  fresh, 
and  the  boat,"  although  it  had  the  canoe  of  Unus  in  tow,  came 
under  the  frowning  cliffs  some  time  before  the  day  reappeared. 
By  the  time  the  sun  rose,  the  Ncshamony  was  off  the  cove, 
into  which  she  hastened  with  the  least  possible  delay.  It  was 
the  governor's  apprehension  that  his  sails  might  be  seen  from 
the  canoes  of  Waally,  long  before  the  canoes  could  be  seen 
from  his  boat,  and  he  was  glad  to  get  within  the  cover  of  his 
little  haven.  Once  there,  the  different  crafts  were  quite  con- 
cealed from  the  view  of  persons  outside,  and  it  now  remained 
to  be  proved  whether  their  cover  was  not  so  complete  as  effec- 
tually to  baffle  a  hostile  attempt  to  find  it. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  261 

The  quick  and  unexpected  return  of  the  Neshamony  pro- 
duced a  great  deal  of  surprise  on  the  plain.  She  had  not  been 
seen  to  enter  the  cove,  and  the  first  intimation  any  one  in  the 
settlement  had  of  such  an  occurrence,  was  the  appearance  of 
Murk  before  the  door  of  the  dwelling.  Bigelow  was  imme- 
diately sent  to  the  peak  with  a  glass,  to  look  out  for  canoes, 
while  Heaton  was  called  in  from  the  woods  by  means  of  a  conch. 
In  twenty  minutes  the  council  was  regularly  in  session,  while 
the  men  began  to  collect  and  to  look  to  their  arms.  Peters 
and  Jones  were  ordered  to  go  down  to  the  magazine,  procure 
cartridges,  and  then  proceed  to  the  batteries  and  load  the 
carronades.  In  a  word,  orders  were  given  to  make  all  the 
arrangements  necessary  for  the  occasion. 

It  was  not  long  ere  a  report  came  down  from  Bigelow.  It 
was  brought  by  his  Spanish  wife,  who  had  accompanied  her 
husband  to  the  peak,  and  who  came  running  in,  half  breath- 
less, to  say  that  the  ocean  was  covered  with  canoes  and  cata- 
marans ;  a  fleet  of  which  was  paddling  directly  for  the  island, 
being  already  within  three  leagues  of  it.  Although  this  intel- 
ligence was  expected,  it  certainly  caused  long  faces  and  a  deep 
gloom  to  pervade  that  little  community.  Mark's  fears  were 
always  for  the  reef,  where  there  happened  to  be  no  one  just  at 
that  moment  but  the  black  women,  who  were  altogether  insuffi- 
cient to  defend  it,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  but 
who  were  now  without  a  head.  There  was  the  hope,  however, 
of  the  Indians  not  seeing  those  low  islands,  wdiich  they  cer- 
tainly could  not  do  as  long  as  they  remained  in  their  canoes. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  was  the  danger  that  some  one  might 
cross  from  the  reef  in  one  of  the  boats,  a  thing  that  was  done 
as  often  as  once  a  week,  in  which  case  a  chase  might  ensue, 
and  the  canoes  be  led  directly  toward  the  spot  that  it  was  so 
desirable  to  conceal.  Juno  could  sail  a  boat  as  well  as  any 
man  among  them,  and,  as  is  usually  the  case,  that  which  she 
knew  she  could  do  so  well,  she  was  fond  of  doing;  and  she 
had  not  now  been  across  for  nearly  a  week.  The  cow  kept  at 
the  crater  gave  a  large  mess  of  milk,  and  the  butter  produced 


262  the    crater: 

by  her  means  was  delicious  when  eaten  fresh,  but  did  not  keep 
quite  as  well  in  so  warm  a  climate  as  it  might  have  done  in  one 
that  was  colder,  and  Dido  was  ever  anxious  to  send  it  to  Miss 
Bridget,  as  she  still  called  her  mistress,  by  every  available 
opportunity.  The  boat  used  by  the  negresses  on  such  occa- 
sions, was  the  Dido,  a  perfectly  safe  craft  in  moderate  weather, 
but  she  was  just  the  dullest  sailer  of  all  those  owned  by  the 
colony.  This  created  the  additional  danger  of  a  capture,  in 
the  event  of  a  chase.  Taking  all  things  into  consideration, 
therefore,  Mark  adjourned  the  council  to  the  peak,  a  feverish 
desire  to  look  out  upon  the  sea  causing  him  to  be  too  uneasy 
where  he  was,  to  remain  there  in  consultation  with  any  coin- 
fort  to  himself.  To  the  peak,  then,  everybody  repaired,  with 
the  exception  <>(  Bigelow,  Peters,  and  Jones,  who  were  now  reg- 
ularly stationed  at  the  carronades  to  watch  the  entrance  of  the 
cove.  In  sa\  ing  everybody,  we  include  not  only  all  the  women, 
but  even  their  children. 

So  long  as  the  colonists  remained  on  the  plain,  there  was  not 
the  smallest  danger  of  any  one  of  them  being  seen  from  the 
surrounding  ocean.  This  the  woods,  and  their  great  elevation, 
prevented.  Nor  was  there  much  danger  of  the  party  in  the 
batteries  being  seen,  though  so  much  lower,  and  necessarily  on 
the  side  of  the  cliff,  since  a  strict  order  had  been  given  to  keep 
out  of  sight,  among  the  trees,  where  they  could  see  every  thing 
that  was  going  on,  without  being  seen  themselves.  But  on  the 
naked  .peak  it  was  different.  High  as  it  was,  a  man  might  be 
seen  from  the  ocean,  if  moving  about,  and  the  observer  was 
tolerably  near  by.  Bob  had  seen  Mark,  when  his  attention 
was  drawn  to  the  spot  by  the  report  of  the  latter's  fowling- 
piece  ;  and  the  governor  had  often  seen  Bridget  on  the  look- 
out for  him,  as  he  left  the  island,  though  her  fluttering  dress 
probably  made  her  a  more  conspicuous  object  than  most  per- 
sons would  have  been.  From  all  this,  then,  the  importance  of 
directing  the  movements  of  the  party  that  followed  him  became 
apparent  to  Mark,  who  took  his  measures  accordingly. 

By  the  time  the  governor  reached  the  peak,  having  ascended 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  263 

it  on  its  eastern  side,  so  as  to  keep  his  person  concealed,  the 
hostile  fleet  was  plainly  to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  It 
came  on  in  a  tolerably  accurate  line,  or  lines,  abreast ;  being 
three  deep,  one  distant  from  the  other  about  a  cable's  length. 
It  steered  directly  for  the  centre  of  the  island,  whereas  the  cove 
was  much  nearer  to  its  northern  than  to  its  southern  end  ;  and 
the  course  showed  that  the  canoes  were  coming  on  at  random, 
having  nothing  in  view  but  the  island. 

But  Mark's  eyes  were  turned  with  the  greatest  interest  to 
the  northward,  or  in  the  direction  of  the  reef.  As  they  came 
up  the  ascent,  Bridget  had  communicated  to  him  the  fact  that 
she  expected  Juno  over  that  day,  and  that  it  was  understood 
she  would  come  quite  alone.  Bridget  was  much  opposed  to 
the  girl's  taking  this  risk  ;  but  Juno  had  now  done  it  so  often 
successfully,  that  nothing  short  of  a  positive  command  to  the 
contrary  would  be  likely  to  stop  her.  This  command,  most 
unfortunately,  as  Mark  now  felt,  had  not  been  given  ;  and  f-Teat 
was  his  concern  when  Betts  declared  that  he  saw  a  white  speck 
to  the  northward,  which  looked  like  a  sail.  The  glass  was 
soon  levelled  in  that  direction,  and  no  doubt  any  longer  re- 
mained on  the  subject.  It  was  the  Dido,  steering  across  from 
the  reef,  distant  then  about  ten  miles ;  and  she  might  be  ex- 
pected  to  arrive  in  about  two  hours  !  In  other  words,  judging 
by  the  progress  of  the  canoes,  there  might  be  a  ditference  of 
merely  half  an  hour  or  so  between  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the 
boat  and  that  of  the  canoes. 

This  was  a  very  serious  matter ;  and  never  before  had  the 
council  a  question  before  it  which  gave  its  members  so  much 
concern,  or  which  so  urgently  called  for  action,  as  this  of  the 
course  that  was  now  to  be  taken  to  avert  a  danger  so  imminent. 
Nut  only  was  Juno's  safety  involved,  but  the  discovery  of  the 
cove  and  the  reef,  one  or  both,  was  very  likely  to  be  involved 
in  the  issue,  and  the  existence  of  the  whole  colony  placed  in 
extreme  jeopardy.  As  the  canoes  were  still  more  than  a  league 
from  the  island,  1J..I,  thought  there  was  time  to  go  out  with  the 
Bridget  aud  meet  the  Dido,  when  both  boats  could  ply  to  wind 


264  the    crater: 

ward  until  it  was  dark  ;  after  which,  they  might  go  into  the 
reef,  or  come  into  the  cove,  as  circumstances  permitted.  The 
governor  was  about  to  acquiesce  in  this  suggestion,  little  as  he 
liked  it,  when  a  new  proposition  was  made,  that  at  first  seemed 
so  strange  that  no  one  believed  it  could  be  put  in  execution,  but 
to  which  all  assented  in  the  end. 

Among  the  party  on  the  peak  were  Unus  and  Peggy.  The 
latter  understood  a  good  deal  of  English,  ami  that  which  she 
did  not  comprehend,  in  the  course  of  the  dismissions  on  this 
interesting  occasion,  Bob,  who  bad  picked  up  something  of  the 
language  of  her  group,  explained  to  her,  as  well  as  he  could. 
After  a  time,  the  girl  ran  down  to  the  battery.and  brought  up 
her  husband,  through  whom  the  proposal  was  made  that,  at  first, 
excited  bo  much  wonder.  Peggy  had  told  Unus  what  was  go- 
ing on,  and  had  pointed  out  to  him  the  boat  of  Juno,  now  sen- 
Bibly  drawing  nearer  to  the  island,  and  Unus  volunteered  to 
sioim  out  and  meet  the  girl,  so  as  to  give  her  timely  warning, 
a-  well  a-  instructions  how  to  proceed! 

Although  Mark,  and  Heaton,  and  Bridget,  and  all  present, 
indeed,  were  fully  aware  that  the  natives  of  the  South  Seas 
could,  and  often  did  pass  hours  in  the  water,  this  proposal 
struck  them  all,  at  first,  as  so  wild,  that  no  one  believed  it  could 
be  accepted.  Reflection,  however,  did  it<  usual  office,  and 
wrought  a  change  in  these  opinions.  Peters  assured  the  gov- 
ernor that  he  had  often  known  Unus  to  swim  from  island  to 
island  in  the  group,  and  that  on  the  score  of  danger  to  him, 
there  was  not  the  least  necessity  of  feeling  any  uneasiness.  Ho 
did  not  question  the  Indian's  power  to  swim  the  entire  distance 
to  the  reef,  should  it  be  necessary. 

Another  difficulty  arose,  however,  when  the  first  was  over- 
come. Unus  could  speak  no  English,  and  how  was  he  to  com- 
municate with  Juno,  even  after  he  had  entered  her  boat  ?  The 
girl,  moreover,  was  both  resolute  and  strong,  as  her  present  ex- 
pedition sufficiently  proved,  and  would  be  very  apt  to  knock  a 
nearly  naked  savage  on  the  head,  when  she  saw  him  attempting 
to  enter  her  boat.     From  this -last  opinion,  however,  Bridget 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  265 

dissented.  Juno  was  kind-hearted,  and  would  be  more  disposed, 
she  thought,  to  pick  up  a  man  found  in  the  water  at  sea,  than 
to  injure  him.  But  Juno  could  read  writing.  Bridget  herself 
had  taught  her  slaves  to  read  and  write,  and  Juno,  in  particular, 
was  a  sort  of  "  expert"  in  her  way.  She  wrote  and  read  half 
the  nigger  letters  of  Bristol,  previously  to  quitting  America. 
She  would  now  write  a  short  note,  which  would  put  the  girl  on 
her  guard,  and  give  her  confidence  in  Unus.  Juno  knew  tho 
whole  history  of  Peters  and  Peggy,  having  taken  great  interest 
in  the  fate  of  the  latter.  To  own  the  truth,  the  girl  had  mani- 
fested a  very  creditable  degree  of  principle  on  the  subject,  for 
Jones  had  tried  to  persuade  his  friend  to  take  Juno,  a  nice,  tidy, 
light-colored  black,  to  wife,  and  to  forget  Peggy,  when  Juno 
repelled  the  attempt  with  spirit  and  principle.  It  is  due  to 
Peters,  moreover,  to  add  that  he  was  always  true  to  his  island 
bride.  But  the  occurrence  had  made  Juno  acquainted  with  the 
whole  history  of  Peggy ;  and  Bridget,  in  the  few  lines  she  now 
wrote  to  the  girl,  took  care  to  tell  her  that  the  Indian  was  the 
brother  of  Peggy.  In  that  capacity  he  would  be  almost  cer- 
tain of  a  friendly  reception.  The  rest  of  the  note  was  merely 
an  outline  of  their  situation,  with  an  injunction  to  let  Unus  di- 
rect the  movements. 

No  sooner  was  this  important  note  written,  than  Unus  has- 
tened down  to  the  cove.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mark,  Pe- 
ters, and  Peggy  ;  the  former  to  give  his  instructions,  and  the 
two  latter  to  act  as  interpreters'.  Nor  was  the  sister  without 
feeling  for  the  brother  on  the  occasion.  She  certainly  did  not 
regard  his  enterprise  as  it  would  have  been  looked  upon  by  a 
civilized  woman,  but  she  manifested  a  proper  degree  of  interest 
in  its  success.  Her  parting  words  to  her  brother,  were  advice 
to  keep  well  to  windward,  in  order  that,  as  he  got  near  the 
boat,  he  might  float  down  upon  it  with  the  greater  facility, 
aided  by  the  waves. 

The  young  Indian  was  soon  ready.  The  note  was  secured 
in  his  hair,  and  moving  gently  in  the  water,  he  swam  out  of 
the  cove  with  the  ease,  if  not  with  the  rapidity  of  a  fisL 
12 


266  the    crater: 

Peggy  clapped  her  hands  and  laughed,  and  otherwise  manifested 
a  sort  of  childish  delight,  as  if  pleased  that  one  of  her  race 
should  so  early  make  himself  useful  to  the  countrymen  of  her 
husband.  She  and  Peters  repaired  to  the  battery,  which  was 
the  proper  station  of  the  man,  while  Mark  went  nimbly  up  the 
stairs,  on  his  way  to  the  peak.  And  here  we  might  put  in  a 
passing  word  on  the  subject  of  these  ascents  and  descents.  The 
governor  had  now  been  accustomed  to  them  more  than  a  twelve- 
month, and  he  found  that  the  effect  they  produced  on  the 
muscles  of  his  lower  Limbs  was  absolutely  surprising.  He  could 
now  ascend  the  stairs  in  half  the  time  he  had  taken  on  his  first 
trials,  and  he  could  carry  burdens  up  and  down  them,  that  at 
first  he  would  not  have  dreamed  of  attempting  even  to  take  on 
his  shoulders.  The  same  was  true  with  all  the  colonists,  male 
and  female,  who  began  to  run  about  the  cliffs  like  so  many 
goats — chamois  would  be  more  poetical — and  who  made  as  light 
of  the  stairs  as  the  governor  himself. 

When  Mark  reached  the  peak  again,  he  found  matters  draw- 
ing near  to  a  crisis.  The  canoes  were  within  a  league  of  the 
island,  coming  on  steadily  in  line,  and  paddling  with  measured 
sweeps  of  their  paddles.  As  yet,  the  sail  of  Juno's  boat  had 
escaped  them.  This  was  doubtless  owing  to  their  lowness  in 
the  water,  and  the  distance  that  still  separated  them.  The  Dido 
was  about  five  miles  from  the  northern  end  of  the  island,  while 
the  fleet  was  some  five  more  to  the  southward  of  it.  This 
placed  the  two  almost  ten  miles*  apart;  though  each  seemed  so 
near,  seen  from  the  elevation  of  the  peak,  that  one  might  have 
fancied  that  he  could  throw  a  shot  into  either. 

Unus  was  the  great  point  of  interest  for  the  moment.  He 
was  just  coming  out  clear  of  the  island,  and  might  be  seen  with 
the  naked  eye,  in  that  pure  atmosphere,  a  dark  speck  floating 
on  the  undulating  surface  of  the  ocean.  By  the  aid  of  the 
glass,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  watching  his  smallest  move- 
ment. With  a  steady  and  sinewy  stroke  of  his  arms,  the  young 
savage  pursued  his  way,  keeping  to  windward,  as  instructed  by 
his  sister,  and  making  a  progress  in  the  midst  of  those  rolling 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  267 

billows  that  was  really  wonderful.  The  wind  was  not  very 
fresh,  nor  were  the  seas  high ;  but  the  restless  ocean,  even  in 
its  slumbers,  exhibits  the  repose  of  a  giant,  whose  gentlest 
heavings  are  formidable  and  to  be  looked  to.  In  one  particu- 
lar, our  colonists  were  favored.  Owing  to  some  accidental 
circumstances  of  position,  a  current  set  round  the  northern  end 
of  the  island,  and  diffused  itself  on  its  western  side  by  expand- 
ing toward  the  south.  This  carried  the  canoes  from  the  boat 
and  the  cove,  and  insomuch  increased  Juno's  chance  of  es- 
cape. 

The  meeting  between  TJnus  and  the  boat  took  place  when 
the  latter  was  within  a  league  of  the  land.  As  the  sailing  di- 
rections were  for  every  craft  to  fall  in  with  the  island  rather  to 
windward  of  the  peak,  on  account  of  the  very  current  just  men- 
tioned, it  was  questionable  with  Mark  and  Betts  whether  any 
in  the  canoes  could  now  perceive  the  boat,  on  account  of  the 
intervening  heights.  It  was  pretty  certain  no  one,  as  yet,  had 
made  this  important  discovery,  for  the  impetuosity  of  savages 
would  instantly  have  let  the  fact  be  known  through  their  shouts 
and  their  eagerness  to  chase.  On  the  contrary,  all  remained 
tranquil  in  the  fleet,  which  continued  to  approach  the  land  with 
a  steady  but  regulated  movement,  that  looked  as  if  a  secret 
awe  pervaded  the  savages  as  they  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to 
that  unknown  and  mysterious  world.  To  them  the  approaching 
revelations  were  doubtless  of  vast  import;  and  the  stoutest 
heart  among  them  must  have  entertained  some  such  sensations 
as  were  impressed  on  the  spirits  of  Columbus  and  his  compan- 
ions, when  they  drew  near  to  the  shores  of  Guanahani. 

In  the  meantime  Juno  came  confidingly  on,  shaping  her 
course  rather  more  to  windward  than  usual,  even,  on  account  of 
the  lightness  of  the  breeze.  This  effectually  prevented  her  see- 
ing or  being  seen  from  the  canoes  ;  the  parties  diagonally  draw- 
ing nearer,  in  utter  ignorance  of  each  other's  existence.  As 
for  Unas,  he  manoeuvred  quite  skilfully.  After  getting  a  couple 
of  miles  off  the  land,  he  swam  directly  to  windward;  and  it 
was  well  he  did,  the  course  of  the  boat  barely  permitting  his 


2G8  the    crater: 

getting  well  on  her  weather-bow,  when  it  was  time  to  think  of 
boarding. 

Unus  displayed  great  judgment  in  this  critical  part  of  the 
affair.  So  accurately  did  he  measure  distances,  that  he  got 
alongside  the  Dido,  with  his  hand  on  her  weather  gunwale, 
without  Juno's  having  the  least  idea  that  he  was  anywhere  near 
her.  At  one  effort  he  was  in  the  boat ;  and  while  the  girl  was 
still  uttering  her  scream  of  alarm,  he  stood  holding  out  the 
note,  pronouncing  the  word  "Missus"  as  well  as  he  could.  The 
girl  had  acquired  too  much  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  the 
South  Sea  islanders,  while  passing  through  and  sojourning  in 
the  different  groups  she  had  visited,  to  be  overwhelmed  with 
the  occurrence.  What  is  more,  she  recognized  the  young  In- 
dian at  a  glance  ;  some  passages  of  gallantry  having  actually 
taken  place  between  them  during  the  two  months  Heaton  and 
his  party  remained  among  Ooroony's  people.  To  be  frank  with 
the  reader,  the  first  impression  of  Juno  was,  that  the  note  thus 
tendered  to  her  was  a  love-letter,  though  its  contents  instantly 
undeceived  her.  The  exclamation  and  changed  manner  of  the 
girl  told  Unus  that  all  was  right ;  and  he  went  quietly  to  work 
to  take  in  the  sail,  as  the  most  effectual  method  of  concealing 
the  presence  of  the  boat  from  the  thousand  hostile  and  search- 
ing eyes  in  the  canoes.  The  moment  Mark  saw  the  canvas 
come  in,  he  cried  out  "All  is  well,"  and  descended  swiftly  from 
the  peak,  to  hasten  to  a  point  where  he  could  give  the  necessary 
attentions  to  the  movements  of  Waally  and  his  fleet. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  2G9 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

"Ho!  strike  the  flag-staff  deep,  Sir  Knight— 
Ho!  scatter  flowers,  fair  maids — 
Ho!  gunners,  fire  a  loud  salute — 
Ho !  gallants,  draw  your  blades ;™ 

MACAtTLEY. 

So  much  time  had  passed  in  the  execution  of  the  plan  of 
Unus,  that  the  canoes  were  close  under  the  cliffs,  when  the 
governor  and  his  party  reached  the  wood  that  fringed  their 
summits,  directly  over  the  northern  end  of  their  line.  Even 
this  extremity  of  their  formation  was  a  mile  or  two  to  leeward 
of  the  cove,  and  all  the  craft,  catamarans  included,  were  drifting 
still  further  south,  under  the  influence  of  the  current.  So  long 
as  this  state  of  things  continued  there  was  nothing  for  the  colo- 
nists to  apprehend,  since  they  knew  landing  at  any  other  spot 
than  the  cove  was  out  of  the  question.  The  strictest  orders 
had  been  given  for  every  one  to  keep  concealed,  a  task  that  was 
by  no  means  difficult,  the  whole  plain  being  environed  with 
woods,  and  its  elevation  more  than  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea.  In  short,  nothing  but  a  wanton  exposure  of  the  person, 
could  render  it  possible  for  one  on  the  water  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  another  on  the  heights  above  him. 

The  fleet  of  Waally  presented  an  imposing  sight.  Not  only 
were  his  canoes  large,  and  well  filled  with  men,  but  they  were 
garnished  with  the  usual  embellishments  of  savage  magnificence. 
Feathers  and  flags,  and  symbols  of  war  and  power,  were  waving 
and  floating  over  the  prows  of  most  of  them,  while  the  warriors 
they  contained  were  gay  in  their  trappings.  It  was  apparent, 
however,  to  the  members  of  the  council,  who  watched  every 
movement  of  the  fleet  with  the  utmost  vigilance,  that  their  foes 


270  the    crater: 

were  oppressed  with  doubts  concerning  the  character  of  the 
place  they  had  ventured  so  far  to  visit.  The  smoke  of  the  vol- 
cano was  visible  to  them,  beyond  a  doubt,  and  here  was  a  wall 
of  rock  interposed  between  them  and  the  accomplishment  of 
their  desire  to  land.  In  this  last  respect,  Rancocus  Island 
offered  a  shore  very  different  from  that  of  Vulcan's  Peak.  The 
first,  in  addition  to  the  long,  low  point  so  often  mentioned,  had 
everywhere  a  beach  of  some  sort  or  other ;  while  on  the  last, 
the  waves  of  the  Pacific  rose  and  fell  as  against  a  precipice, 
marking  their  power  merely  by  a  slight  discoloration  of  the 
iron-bound  coast.  Those  superstitious  and  ignorant  beings 
naturally  would  connect  all  these  unusual  circumstances  with 
some  supernatural  agencies ;  and  Heaton  early  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  Waally,  of  whom  he  had  some  personal  knowl- 
edge, was  hesitating,  and  doubtful  of  the  course  he  ought  to 
pursue,  on  account  of  this  feeling  of  superstition. 

"When  this  opinion  was  expressed,  the  governor  suggested 
the  expediency  of  firing  one  of  the  carronades,  under  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  roar  of  the  gun,  and  most  especially  the  echo,  of 
which  there  was  one  in  particular  that  was  truly  terrific,  might 
have  the  effect  to  frighten  away  the  whole  party.  Heaton  was 
in  doubt  about  the  result,  for  Waally  and  his  people  knew  some- 
thing of  artillery,  though  of  echoes  they  could  not  know  any 
thing  at  all.  Nothing  like  an  echo,  or,  indeed,  a  hill,  was  to  be 
found  in  the  low. coral  islands  of  their  group,  and  the  physical 
agents  of  producing  such  sounds  were  absolutely  wanting  among 
them.  It  might  be  that  something  like  an  echo  had  been  heard 
at  Rancocus  Island,  but  it  must  have  been  of  a  very  different 
calibre  from  that  which  Heaton  and  Mark  were  in  the  habit  of 
making  for  the  amusement  of  the  females,  by  firing  the  fowling- 
pieces  down  the  stairs.  As  yet,  neither  of  the  guns  had  been 
fired  from  the  proper  point,  which  was  the  outer  battery,  or 
that  on  the  shelf  of  rock,  though  a  very  formidable  roaring  had 
been  made  by  the  report  of  the  gun  formerly  fired,  as  an  experi- 
ment to  ascertain  how  far  it  would  command  the  entrance  of  the 
cove.     After  a  good  deal  of  discussion,  it  was  decided  to  try 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  271 

the  experiment,  and  Betts,  who  knew  all  about  the  means  nec- 
essary to  produce  the"  greatest  reverberations,  was  despatched 
to  the  shelf-battery,  with  instructions  to  scale  its  gun,  by  point- 
ing it  along  the  cliff  and  making  all  the  uproar  he  could. 

This  plan  was  carried  out  just  as  Waally  had  assembled  his 
chiefs  around  his  own  canoe,  whither  he  had  called  them  by  an 
order,  to  consult  on  the  manner  in  which  the  entire  coast  of  the 
island  ought  to  be  examined,  that  a  landing  might  be  effected. 
The  report  of  the  gun  came  quite  unexpectedly  to  all  parties  ; 
the  echo,  which  rolled  along  the  cliffs  for  miles,  being  absolute- 
ly terrific  !  Owing  to  the  woods  and  intervening  rocks,  the 
natives  could  see  no  smoke,  which  added  to  their  surprise,  and 
was  doubtless  one  reason  they  did  not,  at  first,  comprehend  the 
long,  cracking,  thundering  sounds  that,  as  it  might  be,  rolled 
out  toward  them  from  the  island.  A  cry  arose  that  the  strange 
rocks  were  speaking,  and  that  the  gods  of  the  place  were  angry. 
This  was  followed  by  a  general  and  confused  flight — the  canoes 
paddling  away  as  if  their  people  were  apprehensive  of  being 
buried  beneath  the  tumbling  rocks.  For  half  an  hour  nothing 
was  seen  but  frantic  efforts  to  escape,  nothing  heard  but  the  dip 
of  the  paddle  and  the  wash  of  its  rise. 

Thus  far,  the  plan  of  the  governor  had  succeeded  beyond  his 
expectations.  Could  he  get  rid  of  these  savages  without  blood- 
shed, it  would  afford  him  sincere  delight,  it  being  repugnant  to 
all  his  feelings  to  sweep  away  rows  of  such  ignorant  men  be- 
fore the  murderous  fire  of  his  cannon.  While  he  and  Heaton 
were  congratulating  each  other  on  the  encouraging  appearances, 
a  messenger  came  down  from  the  peak,  where  Bridget  remained 
on  the  look-out,  to  report  that  the  boat  had  drifted  in,  and  was 
getting  close  under  the  cliffs,  on  the  northern  end  of  the  island, 
which  was,  in  fact,  coming  close  under  the  peak  itself.  A  sig- 
nal to  push  for  the  cove  had  been  named  to  Juno,  and  Bridget 
desired  to  know  whether  it  ought  to  be  made,  e.se  the  boat 
would  shortly  be  too  near  in  to  see  it.  The  governor  thought 
the  moment  favorable,  for  the  canoes  were  still  paddling  in  a 
body  away  from  the  spot  whence  the  roar  had  proceeded,  and 


272  the    crater: 

their  course  carried  them  to  the  southward  and  westward,  while 
Unus  would  approach  from  the  northward  and  eastward.  Word 
was  sent,  accordingly,  to  make  the  signal. 

Bridget  no  sooner  received  this  order  than  she  showed  the 
flap;,  which  was  almost  immediately  answered  by  setting  the 
heat's  sail.  Unus  now  evidently  took  the  direction  of  matters 
m  board  the  Dido.  It  is  probable  he  appreciated  the  effect  of 
the  gun  and  its  echo,  the  first  of  which  he  fully  comprehended, 
though  the  last  was  as  great  and  as  awful  a  mystery  to  him,  as 
to  any  one  of  his  countrymen.  Nevertheless,  he  imputed  the 
strange  and  fearful  roar  of  the  cliffs  to  some  control  of  the 
whites  over  the  power  of  the  hills,  and  regarded  it  as  a  friendly 
roar,  even  while  he  trembled.  Not  so  would  it  be  with  his 
countrymen,  did  he  well  know;  they  would  retire  before  it; 
and  the  signal  being  given  at  that  instant,  the  young  Indian 
had  no  hesitation  about  the  course  he  ought  to  take. 

Unus  understood  sailing  a  boat  perfectly  well.  On  setting 
his  sail,  he  stood  on  in  the  Dido  until  he  was  obliged  to  bear 
up  on  account  of  the  cliffs.  This  brought  him  so  close  to  the 
rocks  as  greatly  to  diminish  the  chances  of  being  seen.  There 
both  wind  and  current  aided  his  progress  ;  the  first  drawing 
round  the  end  of  the  island,  the  coast  of  which  it  followed  in  a 
sort  of  eddy,  for  some  time,  and  the  latter  setting  down  toward 
the  cove,  which  was  less  than  two  miles  from  the  north  bluff. 
In  twenty  minutes  after  he  had  made  sail,  Unus  was  entering 
the  secret  little  harbor,  Waally  and  his  fleet  being  quite  out  of. 
sight  from  one  as  low  as  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  still  paddling 
away  to  the  south-west  as  hard  as  they  could. 

Great  was  the  exultation  of  the  colonists,  at  this  escape  of 
Juno's.  It  even  surpassed  their  happiness  at  the  retreat  of  their 
invaders.  If  the  boat  was  actually  unseen,  the  governor  believed 
the  impression  was  sufficient  to  keep  the  savages  aloof  for  a  long 
time,  if  not  forever ;  since  they  would  not  fail  to  ascribe  the 
roar,  and  the  smoke  of  the  volcano,  and  all  the  mysteries  of  the 
place,  to  supernatural  agencies.  If  the  sail  had  been  seen,  how- 
ever, it  was  possible  that,  on  reflection,  their  courage  might  re- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  273 

we,  and  more  would  be  seen  of  them.  TJnus  was  extolled  by 
everybody,  and  seemed  perfectly  happy.  Peggy  communicated 
his  thoughts,  which  were  every  way  in  favor  of  his  new  friends. 
Waally  he  detested.  He  denounced  him  as  a  ruthless  tyrant, 
and  declared  he  would  prefer  death  to  submission  to  his  exac- 
tions. Juno  highly  approved  of  all  his  sentiments,  and  was 
soon  known  as  a  sworn  friend  of  Peggy's.  This  hatred  of  tyr- 
anny is  innate  in  man,  but  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between 
real  oppression  and  those  restraints  which  are  wholesome,  if  not 
indispensable  to  human  happiness.  As  for  the  canoes,  they 
were  soon  out  of  sight  in  the  south-western  board,  running  off, 
under  their  sails,  before  the  wind.  Waally,  himself,  was  too 
strong-minded  and  resolute  to  be  as  much  overcome  by  the 
echo  as  his  companions ;  but,  so  profound  and  general  was  the 
awe  excited,  that  he  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  persevere  in 
his  projects,  at  a  moment  so  discouraging.  Acquiescing  in  the 
wishes  of  all  around  him,  the  .expedition  drew  off  from  the  isl- 
and, making  the  best  of  its  way  back  to  the  place  from  which  it 
had  last  sailed.  All  these  circumstances  became  known  to  the 
colonists,  in  the  end,  as  well  as  the  reasoning  and  the  more 
minute  incidents  that  influenced  the  future  movements.  For 
the  time  being,  however,  Woolston  and  his  friends  were-  left  to 
their  own  conjectures  on  the  subject ;  which,  however,  were 
not  greatly  out  of  the  way.  It  was  an  hour  after  Juno  and 
TJnus  were  safe  up  on  the  plain,  before  the  look-outs  at  the 
peak  finally  lost  sight  of  the  fleet,  which,  when  last  seen,  was 
steering  a  course  that  would  carry  it  between  the  volcano  and 
Rancocus  Island,  and  might  involve  it  in  serious  difficulties  in 
the  succeeding  night.  There  was  no  land  in  sight  from  the 
highest  points  on  Rancocus  Island,  nor  any  indications  of  land, 
in  a  south-westerly  direction ;  and,  did  the  canoes  run  past  the 
latter,  the  imminent  danger  of  a  general  catastrophe  would  be 
the  consequence.  Once  at  sea,  under  an  uncertainty  as  to  the 
course  to  be  steered,  the  situation  of  those  belonging  to  the  ex- 
pedition would  be  painful,  indeed,  nor  could  the  results  be  fore- 
seen. Waally,  nevertheless,  escaped  the  danger.  Ed^in"  off 
12* 


2/4  the    crater: 

to  keep  aloof  from  the  mysterious  smoke,  which  troubled  his 
followers  almost  as  much  as  the  mysterious  echoes,  the  party, 
most  fortunately  for  themselves,  got  a  distant  view  of  the  moun- 
tains for  which  they  were  running-,  and  altered  their  course  in 
sufficient  time  to  reach  their  place  of  destination  by  the  return 
of  light  the  succeeding  morning. 

All  thoughts  of  the  expedition  to  Rancocus  Island  were  tem- 
porarily abandoned  by  the  governor  and  his  council.  Mark 
was  greatly  disappointed,  nor  did  his  regrets  cease  with  disap- 
pointment only.  Should  Waally  have  a  portion  of  his  people 
on  that  island,  a  collision  must  occur,  sooner  or  later;  there 
being  a  moral  Impossibility  of  the  two  colonies  continuing 
friends  while  so  near  each  other.  The  nature  of  an  echo  would 
be  ascertained,  before  many  mouths,  among  the  hills  of  Ranco- 
cus Island,  and  when  that  came  to  be  understood,  there  was  an 
end  of  the  sacred  character  that  the  recent  events  had  conferred 
on  the  peak.  Any  straggling  vagabond,  or  runaway  from  a 
ship,  might  purchase  a  present  importance  by  explaining  things, 
and  induce  the  savages  to  renew  their  efforts.  In  a  word,  there 
was  the  moral  certainty  that  hostilities  must  be  renewed  ere 
many  months  did  Waally  remain  so  near  them,  and  the  question 
now  s«riously  arose,  whether  it  were  better  to  press  the  advan- 
tage already  obtained,  and  drive  him  back  to  his  group,  or  to 
remain  veiled  behind  the  sort  of  mystery  that  at  present  en- 
shrouded them. 

These  points  were  gravely  debated,  and  became  subjects  of 
as  great  interest  among  the  colonists,  as  ever  banks,  or  aboli- 
tionism, or  antimasonry,  or  free-trade,  or  any  other  of  the 
crotchets  of  the  day,  could  possibly  be  in  America.  Many 
were  the  councils  that  were  convened  to  settle  this  important 
point  of  policy,  which,  after  all,  like  most  other  matters  of 
moment,  was  decided  more  by  the  force  of  circumstances  than 
by  any  of  the  deductions  of  human  reason.  The  weakness  of 
the  colony,  and  the  dangers  to  its  existence,  disposed  of  the 
question  of  an  aggressive  war.  Waally  was  too  strong  to  be 
assailed  by  a  dozen  enemies,  and  all  the  suggestions  of  prudence 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  2*75 

i 
were  in  favor  of    remaining  quiet,  until  the  Friend  Abraham 

White  could,  at  least,  be  made  available  in  the  contest.  Sup- 
ported by  that  vessel,  indeed,  matters  would  be  changed  ;  and 
Mark  thought  it  would  be  in  his  power  to  drive  in  Waally,  and 
even  to  depose  him  and  place  Ooroony  at  the  head  of  the 
natives  once  more.  To  finish  and  launch  the  schooner,  there- 
fore, was  now  the  first  great  object,  and,  after  a  week  of  inde- 
cision and  consultations,  it  was  determined  to  set  about  that 
duty  with  vigor. 

It  will  be  easily  seen,  that  the  getting  of  the  Abraham  into 
the  water  was  an  affair  of  a  good  deal  of  delicacy,  under  the 
circumstances.  The  strait  between  the  peak  and  Cape  South 
was  thirty  miles  wide,  and  it  was  twenty  more  to  the  crater. 
Thus  the  party  at  work  on  the  vessel  would  be  fully  fifty  miles 
from  the  main  abodes  of  the  colony,  and  thrown  quite  out  of 
the  affair  should  another  invasion  be  attempted.  As  for  bring- 
ing the  Neshamony,  the  Dido,  the  Bridget,  and  the  lighter 
into  the  combat,  everybody  was  of  opinion  it  would  be  risking 
too  much.  It  is  true,  one  of  the  swivels  was  mounted  on  the 
former,  and  might  be  of  service,  but  the  natives  had  got  to  bo 
too  familiar  with  fire-arms  to  render  it  prudent  to  rely  on  the 
potency  of  a  single  swivel,  in  a  conflict  against  a  force  so  nu- 
merous, and  one  led  by  a  spirit  as  determined  as  that  Waally's 
was  known  to  be.  All  idea  of  fighting  at  sea,  therefore,  until 
the  schooner  was  launched,  was  out  of  the  question,  and  every 
energy  was  turned  to  effect  the  latter  most  important  object. 
A  separation  of  the  forces  of  the  colony  was  inevitable,  in  the 
meanwhile ;  and  reliance  must  be  placed  on  the  protection  of 
Providence,  for  keeping  the  enemy  aloof  until  the  vessel  was 
ready  for  active  service. 

The  labor  requiring  as  much  physical  force  as  could  be  mus- 
tered,  the  arrangement  was  settled  in  council  and  approved  by 
the  governor,  on  the  following  plan,  viz.  :  Mark  was  to  pro- 
>  ed  to  the  reef  with  all  the  men  that  could  be  spared,  and  a 
portion  of  the  females.  It  was  not  deemed  safe,  however,  to 
leave  the  peak  with  less  than  three  defenders — Heaton,  Peters, 


276 


the    crater: 


and  Unus  being  chosen  for  that  important  station  ;  the  former 
commanding,  of  course.  Mark,  Betts,  Bigelow,  Socrates,  and 
Jones  formed  the  party  for  the  reef,  to  which  were  attached 
Bridget,  Martha,  Teresa,  and  the  blacks.  Bigelow  went  across, 
indeed,  a  day  or  two  before  the  main  party  sailed,  in  order  to 
look  after  Dido,  and  to  get  his  work  forward  as  fast  as  possible. 
When  all  was  ready — and  that  was  when  ten  days  had  gote  by 
after  the  retreat  of  Waally,  without  bringing  any  further  tiuings 
from  him — the  governor  sailed  in  the  Neshamony,  having  the 
Bridget  and  the  lighter  in  company,  leaving  the  Dido  for  the 
convenience  of  Heaton  and  his  set.  Signals  were  agreed  on, 
though  the  distance  was  so  great  as  to  render  them  of  little  use, 
unless  a  boat  were  mid-channel.  A'very  simple  and  ingenious 
expedient,  nevertheless,  was  suggested  by  Mark,  in  connec- 
tion with  this  matter.  A  single  tree  grew  so  near  the  peak 
as  to  be  a  conspicuous  object  from  the  ocean  ;  it  was  not  large, 
though  it  could  be  seen  at  a  great  distance,  more  particularly 
in  the  direction  of  the  reef.  The  governor  intimated  an  inten- 
tion to  send  a  boat  daily  far  enough  out  into  the  strait  to 
ascertain  whether  this  tree  were,  or  were  not  standing ;  and 
Heaton  was  instructed  to  have  it  felled  as  soon  as  he  had 
thoroughly  ascertained  that  Waally  was  abroad  again  with 
hostile  intentions.  Other  signals  were  also  agreed  on,  in  order 
to  regulate  the  movements  of  the  boats,  in  the  event  of  their 
being  called  back  to  the  peak  to  repel  an  invasion. 

With  the  foregoing  arrangements  completed  and  thoroughly 
understood,  the  governor  set  sail  for  the  reef,  accompanied  by 
his  little  squadron.  It  was  an  exquisitely  beautiful  day,  one  in 
which  all  the  witchery  of  the  climate  developed  itself,  soothing 
the  nerves  and  animating  the  spirits.  Bridget  had  lost  most 
of  her  apprehensions  of  the  natives,  and  could  laugh  with  her 
husband  and  play  with  her  child  almost  as  freely  as  before  the 
late  events.  Everybody,  indeed,  was  in  high  spirits ;  the 
launching  of  the  schooner  being  regarded  as  a  thing  that  would 
give  them  complete  command  of  the  adjacent  seas. 

The  passage  was  short,   a  fresh  breeze  blowing,  and  four 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK. 


277 


hours  after  quitting  the  cliffs,  the  Neshamony  was  under  the 
lee  of  Cape  South,  and  heading  for  the  principal  inlet.  As  the 
craft  glided  along,  in  perfectly  smooth  water  now,  Mark  noted 
the  changes  that  time  was  making  on  those  rocks,  which  had 
so  lately  emerged  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  The  prairie, 
in  particular,  was  every  way  worthy  of  his  attention.  A  mass 
of  sea-weed,  which  rested  on  a  sort  of  stratum  of  mud  imme- 
diately after  the  eruption,  had  now  heen  the  favorite  pasturage 
of  the  hogs  for  more  than  a  twelvemonth.  These  hogs  at  the 
present  time  exceeded  fifty  full-grown  animals,  and  there  were 
twice  that  number  of  grunters  at  their  heels.  Then  the  work 
they  had  done  on  the  prairie  was  incredible.  Not  less  than 
hundreds  of  acres  had  they  rooted  over,  mixing  the  sea-weed 
with  the  mud,  and  fast  converting  the  whole  into  soil.  The 
rains  had  washed  away  the  salt,  or  converted  it  into  manure,  as 
well  as  contributing  to  the  more  rapid  decay  of  the  vegetable 
substances.  In  that  climate  the  changes  are  very  rapid,  and 
Mark  saw  that  another  year  or  two  would  convert  the  whole  of 
that  vast  range,  which  had  been  formerly  computed  at  a  sur- 
face of  a  thousand  acres,  into  very  respectable  pastures,  if  not 
into  meadows.  Of  meadows,  however,  there  was  very  little 
necessity  in  that  latitude  ;  the  eternal  summer  that  reigned 
furnishing  pasturage  the  year  round.  The  necessary  grasses 
might  be  wanting  to  seed  down  so  large  a  surface,  but  those 
which  Socrates  had  put  in  were  well  rooted,  and  it  was  pretty 
certain  they  would,  sooner  or  later,  spread  themselves  over  the 
whole  field.  In  defiance  of  the  hogs,  and  their  increasing  in- 
roads, large  patches  were  already  green  and  flourishing.  What 
is  more,  young  trees  were  beginning  to  show  themselves  along 
the  margin  of  the  channels.  Heaton  had  brought  over  from 
Betto's  group  several  large  panniers  made  of  green  willows,  and 
these  Socrates  had  cut  into  strips,  and  thrust  into  the  mud. 
Almost  without  an  excepti.in  they  had  struck  out  roots,  and 
never  ceasing,  day  or  night,  to  grow,  they  were  already  mostly 
cf  the  height  of  a  man.  Four  or  five  years  would  convert  them 
into  so  many  beautiful,  if  not  very  useful  trees. 


L78  the    crater: 

Nor  was  this  all.  Heaton,  under  the  influence  of  his  habits, 
had  studied  the  natures  of  the  different  trees  he  had  met  with 
on  the  other  islands.  The  cocoa-nut,  in  particular,  abounded 
in  both  groups,  and  finding  it  was  a  tree  that  much  affected 
low  land  and  salt  water,  he  had  taken  care  to  set  out  various 
samples  of  his  roots  and  fruits,  on  certain  detached  islets  near 
this  channel,  where  the  soil  and  situation  induced  him  to  be- 
lieve they  would  flourish.  Sea-sand  he  was  of  opinion  was  the 
most  favorable  for  the  growth  of  this  tree,  and  he  had  chosen 
the  sites  of  his  plantations  with  a  view  to  those  advantages. 
On  the  peak,  cocoa-nuts  were  to  be  found,  but  they  were  neither 
vi tv  tine  nor  in  very  large  quantities.  So  long  as  Mark  had 
that  island  to  himself,  the  present  supply  would  more  than 
equal  the  demand,  bul  with  the  increase  of  the  colony,  a  great- 
er number  of  the  trees  would  become  very  desirable.  Five  or 
ah  years  would  be  needed  to  produce  the  fruit-bearing  trees, 
and  the  governor  was  pleased  to  find  that  the  growth  of  one 
of  those  years  had  been  already  secured.  In  the  case  of  those 
he  had  himself  planted,  in  and  on  the  crater,  near  three  years 
had  contributed  to  their  growth,  and  neither  the  Guano  nor 
Loam  Island  having  been  forgotten,  many  of  them  were  now 
thirty  feet  high.  As  he  approached  the  crater,  on  that  occa- 
sion, he  looked  at  those  promising  fruits  of  his  early  and  provi- 
dent care  for  the  future  with  great  satisfaction,  for  seldom  was 
the  labor  of  man  better  rewarded.  Mark  well  knew  the  value 
of  this  tree,  which  was  of  use  in  a  variety  of  ways,  in  addition 
to  the  delicious  and  healthful  fruit  it  bears ;  delicious  and 
healthful  when  eaten  shortly  after  it  is  separated  from  the  tree. 
The  wood  of  the  kernel  could  be  polished,  and  converted  into 
bowls,  that  were  ornamental  as  well  as  useful.  The  husks  made 
a  capital  cordage,  and  a  very  respectable  sail-cloth,  being  a 
good  substitute  for  hemp — though  hemp,  itself,  .was  a  plant  that 
might  be  grown  on  the  prairies  to  an  almost  illimitable  extent. 
The  leaves  were  excellent  for  thatching,  as  well  as  for  making 
brooms,  mats,  hammocks,  baskets,  and  a  variety  of  such  articles, 
while  the  trunks  could  be  converted  into  canoes,  gutters,  and 


or,    vuloan's    peak.  279 

timber  generally.  There  was  also  one  other  expensive  use  of 
this  tree,  which  the  governor  had  learned  from  Heatoh.  While 
Bridget  was  still  confined  to  the  ship,  after  the  birth  of  her 
daughter,  Mark  had  brought  her  a  dish  of  greens,  which  she 
pronounced  the  most  delicious  of  any  thing  in  its  way  she  had 
ever  tasted.  It  was  composed  of  the  young  and  delicate  leaves 
of  the  new  growth,  or  of  the  summit  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree, 
somewhat  resembling  the  artichoke  in  the  formation,  though 
still  more  exquisite  in  taste.  But  the  tree  from  which  this 
treat  was  obtained  died — a  penalty  that  must  ever  be  paid  to 
partake  of  that  dish.  As  soon  as  Bridget  learned  this,  she  for- 
bade the  cutting  of  any  more  for  her  use,  at  least. 

All  the  boats  got  into  port  in  good  season,  and  the  reef  once 
more  became  a  scene  of  life  and  activity.  The  schooner  was 
soon  completed,  and  it  only  remained  to  put  her  into  the  water. 
This  work  was  already  commenced  by  Bigelow,  and  the  gov- 
ernor directed  everybody  to  lend  a  hand  in  effecting  so  desira- 
ble an  object.  Bigelow  had  all  his  materials  ready,  and  so 
perseveringly  did  our  colonists  work,  that  the  schooner  was  all 
ready  to  be  put  into  the  water  on  the  evening  of  the  second 
day.  The  launch  was  deferred  only  to  have  the  benefit  of  day- 
light. 

That  afternoon  Mark,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  had  gone  in 
the  Bridget,  his  favorite  boat,  to  look  for  the  signal  tree.  He 
went  some  distance  into  the  strait  ere  he  was  near  enough  to 
get  a  sight  of  it,  even  with  the  glass;  when  he  did  procure  a 
view,  there  it  was  precisely  as  he  had  last  seen  it.  Putting  the 
helm  of  the  boat  up,  the  instant  he  was  assured  of  this  fact,  the 
governor  wore  short  round,  making  the  best  of  his  way  back  to 
the  crater  again.  The  distances,  it  will  be  remembered,  were 
considerable,  and  it  requited  time  to  make  the  passage.  The 
bud  was  setting  as  Mark  was  running  along  the  channel  to  the 
reef,  the  young  man  pointing  out  to  his  charming  wife  the 
growth  of  the  trees,  the  tints  of  the  evening  sky,  the  drove  of 
hogs,  the  extent  of  his  new  meadows,  and  such  other  objects  as 
would  be  likely  to  interest  both,  in  the  midst  of  such  a  scene. 


280  the    crater: 

The  boat  rounded  a  point  where  a  portion  of  the  hogs  had  been 
sleeping,  and  as  it  came  sweeping  up,  the  animals  rose  in  a 
body,  snuffed  the  air,  and  began  scampering  off  in  the  way  con- 
formable to  their  habits,  Mark  laughing  and  pointing  with  his 
finger  to  draw  Bridget's  attention  t<>  their  antics. 

"  There  are  more  of  the  creatures,"  said  Bridget;  "yonder, 
on  the  further  side  of  the  prairie — I  dare  say  the  two  parties 
will  join  each  other,  and  have  a  famous  scamper  in  company." 

"  More  !"  echoed  Mark  ;  "that  can  hardly  be,  as  we  passed 
some  thirty  of  them  several  miles  to  the  southward.  What  is 
it  you  see,  dearest,  that  you  mistake  fur  hogs?" 

"  Why.  yonder — more  than  a  mile  from  as;  on  the  opposite 
sid<   of  the  prairie  and  near  the  water,  in  the  other  channel." 

"The  other  is  not  a  channel  at  all;  it  is  a  mere  bay  that  leads 
to  nothing;  so  none  of  our  boats  or  people  can  be  there.  The 
savages,  as  I  am  your  husband,  Bridget!" 

Sure  enough,  the  objects  which  Bridget  had  mistaken  for 
mere  hogs,  were  in  truth  the  heads  and  shoulders  of  some 
twenty  Indians,  who  were  observing  the  movements  of  the  boat 
from  positions  taken  on  the  other  side  of  the  plain,  so  as  to  con- 
ceal all  but  the  upper  halves  of  their  bodies.  They  had  two 
canoes ;  war  canoes,  moreover ;  but  these  were  the  whole  party, 
at  that  point  at  least. 

This  was  a  most  grave  discovery.  The  governor  had  hoped 
the  reef,  so  accessible  on  every  side  by  means  of  canoes,  would, 
for  years  at  least,  continue  to  be  a  terra  incognita  to  the  savages. 
On  this  ignorance  of  the  natives  would  much  of  its  security 
depend,  for  the  united  forces  of  the  colonists  could  scarcely 
suffice  to  maintain  the  place  against  the  power  of  Waally.  The 
matter,  as  it  was,  called  for  all  his  energies,  and  for  the  most 
prompt  measures. 

*  The  first  step  was  to  apprise  the  people  at  the  reef  of  the 
proximity  of  these  dangerous  neighbors.  As  the  boat  was 
doubtless  seen,  its  sails  rising  above  the  land,  there  was  no 
motive  in  changing  its  course,  or  for  attempting  to  conceal  it. 
The  crater,  ship,  and  schooner  on  the  stocks,  were  all  in  sight 


OR,     VULCAN    8      PEAK.  281 

of  the  savages  at  that  moment,  though  not  less  than  two  leagues 
distant,  where  they  doubtless  appeared  indistinct  and  confused. 
The  ship  might  produce  an  influence  in  one  or  two  ways.  It 
might  inflame  the  cupidity  of  Waally,  under  the  hope  of  pos- 
sessing so  much  treasure,  and  tempt  him  on  to  hasten  his  as- 
sault ;  or  it  might  intimidate  him  by  its  imagined  force,  vessels 
rarely  visiting  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  without  being  prepared 
to  defend  themselves.  The  savages  would  not  be  likely  to  com- 
prehend the  true  condition  of  the  vessel,  but  would  naturally 
suppose  that  she  had  a  full  crew,  and  possessed  the  usual  means 
of  annoying  her  enemies.  All  this  occurred  to  the  governor  in 
the  first  five  minutes  after  his  discovery,  while  his  boat  was 
gliding  onward  toward  her  haven. 

Bridget  behaved  admirably.  She  trembled  a  little  at  first, 
and  pressed  her  child  to  her  bosom  with  more  than  the  usual 
warmth,  but  her  self-command  was  soon  regained,  and  from 
that  instant,  Mark  found  in  her  a  quick,  ingenious,  and  useful 
assistant  and  counsellor.  Her  faculties  and  courage  seemed  to 
increase  with  the  danger,  and  so  far  from  proving  an  encum- 
brance, as  might  naturally  enough  have  been  expected,  she  was 
not  only  out  of  the  way,  as  respects  impediments,  but  she  soon 
became  of  real  use,  and  directed  the  movements  of  the  females 
with  almost  as  much  skill  and  decision  as  Mark  directed  those 
of  their  husbands. 

The  boat  did  not  reach  the  reef  until  dusk,  or  for  an  hour 
after  the  savages  had  been  seen.  The  colonists  had  just  left 
th.-ir  work,  and  the  evening  being  cool  and  refreshing  after  a 
warm  summer's  day,  they  were  taking  their  Slippers  under  a 
tent  or  awning,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  ship-yard,  when 
the  governor  joined  them.  This  tent,  or  awning,  had  been 
erected  for  such  purposes,  and  bad  several  advantages  to  rec- 
ommend it.  It  stood  quite  near  the  beach  of  the  spring,  and 
cool  fresh  water  was  always  at  hand.  It  had  a  carpet  of  velvet- 
like grass,  too,  a  rare  thing  for  the  reef,  on  the  outside  of  the 
crater.  But  there  were  cavities  on  its  surface,  in  which  foreign 
substances  had  collected,  and  this  was  one  of  them.     Sea-weed, 


282  the    crater: 

loam,  dead  fish,  and  rain  water  had  made  a  thin  soil  on  ahout 
an  acre  of  rocks  at  this  spot,  and  the  rain  constantly  assisting 
vegetation,  the  grass  seed  had  taken  root  there,  and  this  being 
its  second  season,  Betta  had  found  the  sward  already  sufficient 
for  his  purposes,  and  caused  an  awning  to  be  spread,  convert- 
ing the  grass  into  a  carpet.  There  might  now  have  been  a 
dozen  similar  places  on  the  reef,  so  many  oases  in  its  desert, 
where  soil  had  formed  and  grass  was  mowing.  No  one  doubted 
that,  in  time  and  with  care,  those  then  living  might  see  most 
of  those  naked  rocks  clothed  with  verdure,  for  the  progress  of 
vegetation  in  such  a  climate,  favored  by  those  accidental  causes 
which  seemed  to  prevent  that  particular  region  from  ever  suffer- 
ing by  droughts,  is  almost  magical,  and  might  convert  a  wilder- 
ness into  a  garden  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  years. 

Mark  did  not  disturb  the  happy  security  in  which  he  found 
his  people  by  any  unnecessary  announcement  of  danger.  On 
the  contrary,  he  spoke  cheerfully,  complimented  them  on  the 
advanced  state  of  their  work,  and  took  an  occasion  to  get  Betts 
aside,  when  he  first  communicated  the  all-important  discovery 
he  had  made.  Bob  was  dumfounded  at  first ;  for,  like  the 
governor  himself,  he  had  believed  the  reef  to  be  one  of  the 
secret  spots  T5f  the  earth,  and  had  never  anticipated  an  invasion 
in  that  quarter.  Recovering  himself,  however,  he  was  soon  in 
a  state  of  mind  to  consult  intelligently  and  freely. 

"  Then  we're  to  expect  the  xc^tyles  to-night  ?"  said  Betts,  as 
soon  as  he  had  regained  his  voice. 

"  I  think  not,"  answered  Mark.  "The  canoes  I  saw  were  in 
the  false  channel,  and  cannot  possibly  reach  us  without  return- 
ing to  the  western  margin  of  the  rocks,  and  entering  one  of  the 
true  passages.  I  rather  think  this  cannot  be  done  before 
morning.  Daylight,  indeed,  may  be  absolutely  necessary  to 
them ;  and,  as  the  night  promises  to  be  dark,  it  is  not  easy  to 
see  how  strangers  can  find  their  way  to  us,  among  the  maze  of 
passages  they  must  meet.  By  land,  they  cannot  get  here  from 
any  of  the  islands  on  the  western  side  of  the  group ;  and,  even 
if  landed  on  the  central  island,  there  is  only  one  route,  and  that 


OB,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  283 

a  crooked  one,  which  will  bring  them  here  without  the  assist- 
ance of  their  canoes.  We  are  reasonably  well  fortified,  Betts, 
through  natural  agencies,  on  that  side  ;  and  I  do  uot  apprehend 
seeing  any  thing  more  of  the  fellows  until  morning." 

"  What  a  misfortin  'tis  that  they  should  ever  have  discovered 
the  reef!" 

"  It  certainly  is  ;  and  it  is  one,  I  confess,  I  had  not  expected. 
But  we  must  take  things  as  they  are,  Betts,  and  do  our  duty. 
Providence — that  all-seeing  power,  which  spared  you  and  me 
when  so  many  of  our  shipmates  were  called  away  with  short  no- 
tice—Providence may  still  be  pleased  to  look  on  us  with  favor." 

"  That  puts  me  in  mind,  Mr.  Mark,  of  telling  you  something 
that  I  have  lately  l'arned  from  Jones,  who  was  about  a  good 
deal  among  the  savages,  since  his  friend's  marriage  with  Pegoy, 
and  before  he  made  his  escape  to  join  us.  Jones  says  that,  as 
near  as  he  can  find  out,  about  three  years  ago,  a  ship's  launch 
came  into  Betto's  Land,  as  we  call  it— Waally's  country,  how- 
ever, is  meant ;  and  that  is  a  part  of  the  group  I  never  ventured 
into,  seeing  that  my  partie'lar  friend,  Ooroony,  and  Waally, 
was  always  at  daggers  drawn — but  a  ship's  launch  came  in  there, 
about  three  years  since,  with  seven  living  men  in  it.  Jones 
could  never  get  a  sight  of  any  of  the  men,  for  Waally  is  said  to 
have  kept  them  all  hard  at  work  for  himself;  but  he  got  toler- 
able accounts  of  them,  as  well  as  of  the  boat  in  which  they 
arrived." 

"  Surely,  Bob,  you  do  not  suppose  that  launch  to  have  been 
ours,  and  those  men  to  have  been  a  part  of  our  old  crew !"  ex- 
claimed Mark,  with  a  tumult  of  feeling  he  had  not  experienced 
since  he  had  reason  to  think  that  Bridget  was  about  to  be  re- 
stored to  him. 

"  Indeed,  but  I  do,  sir.  The  savages  told  Jones  that  the 
boat  had  a  bird  painted  in  its  stern-sheets ;  and  that  was  the 
case  with  our  launch,  Mr.  Mark,  which  was  ornamented  with  a 
spread-eagle  in  that  very  spot.  Then,  one  of  the  men  was  said 
to  have  a  red  mark  on  his  face ;  and  you  may  remember,  sir, 
that  Bill  Brown  had  a  nat'ral  brand  of  that  sort.      Jones  only 


2  Si  thecrater: 

mentioned  the  thing  this  arternoon,  as  we  was  at  work  together  ; 
and  I  detarmined  to  let  you  know  all  about  it,  at  the  first  occasion, 
Depend  on  it,  Mr.  Woolston,  some  of  our  chaps  is  still  living." 

This  unexpected  intelligence  momentarily  drove  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  present  danger  from  the  governor's  mind.  He  sent 
for  Jones,  and  questioned  him  closely  touching  the  particulars 
of  his  information  ;  tin'  answers  he  received  certainly  going  far 
toward  corroborating  Betts'  idea  of  the  character  of  the  unknown 
men.  Jones  was  never  able  even  to  get  on  the  island  where 
these  men  were  said  to  be  ;  but  he  had  received  frequent  de- 
scriptions of  their  ages,  appearances,  numbers,  etc.  It  was  also 
reported  by  those  who  bad  Been  them,  that  several  of  the  party 
had  died  of  hunger  before  the  boat  reached  the  group;  and 
that  only  about  half  of  those  who  had  originally  taken  to  the 
boat,  which  belonged  to  a  ship  that  had  been  wrecked,  lived  to 
get  ashore.  The  man  with  the  mark  on  his  face  was  represent- 
ed as  being  very  expert  with  tools,  and  was  employed  by 
Waally  to  build  him  a  canoe  that  would  live  out  in  the  gales  of 
the  ocean.  This  agreed  perfectly  with  the  trade  and  appear- 
ance of  Brown,  who  had  been  the  Rancocus'  carpenter,  and  had 
the  sort  of  mark  so  particularly  described. 

The  time,  tbe  boat,  the  incidents  of  the  wreck,  meagre  as  the 
last  were,  as  derived  through  the  information  of  Jones,  and  all 
the  other  facts  Mark  could  glean  in  a  close  examination  of  the 
man's  statements,  went  to  confirm  the  impression  that  a  portion 
of  those  who  had  been  carried  to  leeward  in  the  Rancocus' 
launch,  had  escaped  with  their  lives,  and  were  at  that  moment 
prisoners  in  the  power  of  the  very  savage  chief  who  now  threat- 
ened his  colony  with  destruction. 

But  the  emergency  did  not  admit  of  any  protracted  inquiry 
into,  or  any  consultation  on  the  means  necessary  to  relieve  their 
old  shipmates  from  a  fate  so  miserable.  Circumstances  required 
that  the  governor  should  now  give  his  attention  to  the  impor- 
tant concerns  immediately  before  him. 


vul  can's    peak.  285 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


"To  whom  belongs  this  valley  fair, 
That  sleeps  beneath  the  filmy  air, 
Even  like  a  living  thing? 
Silent  as  infant  at  the  breast, 
Save  a  still  sound  that  speaks  of  rest, 

That  streamlet's  murmuring  f" 


WiLSOir. 

When  the  governor  had  communicated  to  his  people  that 
the  savages  were  actually  among  the  islands  of  their  own 
group,  something  very  like  a  panic  came  over  them.  A  few 
minutes,  however,  sufficed  to  restore  a  proper  degree  of  confi- 
dence, when  the  arrangements  necessary  to  their  immediate 
security  were  entered  into.  As  some  attention  had  previously 
heen  bestowed  on  the  fortifications  of  the  crater,  that  place  was 
justly  deemed  the  citadel  of  the  reef.  Some  thought  the  ship 
would  be  the  most  easily  .defended,  on  account  of  the  size  of  the 
crater,  and  because  it  had  a  natural  ditch  around  it,  but  so 
much  property  was  accumulated  in  and  around  the  crater  that 
it  could  not  be  abandoned  without  a  loss  to  which  the  gover- 
nor had  no  idea  of  submitting.  The  gate  of  the  crater  was 
nothing  in  the  way  of  defence,  it  is  true  ;  but  one  of  the  car- 
ronades  had  been  plauted  so  as  to  command  it,  and  this  was 
thought  sufficient  for  repelling  all  ordinary  assaults.  It  has 
been  said,  already,  that  the  outer  wall  of  the  crater  was  perpen- 
dicular at  its  base,  most  probably  owing  to  the  waves  of  the 
ocean  in  that  remote  period  when  the  whole  reef  was  washed 
by  them  in  every  gale  of  wind.  This  perpendicular  portion  of 
the  rock,  moreover,  was  much  harder  than  the  ordinary  surface 
of  the  Summit,  owing,  in  all  probability,  to  the  same  cause.     It 


286  the    crater: 

was  even  polished  in  appearance,  and  in  general  was  somo 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height,  with  the  exception  of  the  two 
or  three  places,  by  one  of  which  Mark  and  Bettshad  clambered 
up  on  their  first  visit  to  the  Summit.  These  places,  always 
small,  and  barely  sufficient  to  allow  of  a  man's  finding  footing 
on  them,  had  long  been  picked  away,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
inroads  of  Kitty,  and  when  the  men  had  turned  their  attention 
to  rendering  the  place  secure  against  a  Budden  inroad,  they,  be- 
ing the  only  points  where  an  enemy  could  get  up,  without 
resorting  to  ladders  or  artificial  assistance,  had,  by  means  of 
additional  labor,  been  rendered  as  secure  as  all  the  rest  of  the 
'•oiii,r  wall,"  as  the  base  of  the  crater  was  usually  termed 
among  them.  It  was  true,  that  civilized  assailants,  who  had 
the  ordinary  means  at  command,  would  soon  have  mastered  this 
obstacle;  but  savages  would  not  be  likely  to  come  prepared  to 
meel  it.  The  schooner,  with  her  cradle  and  ways,  had  required 
all  the  loose  timber,  to  the  last  stick,  and  the  enemy  was  not 
likely  to  procure  any  supplies  from  the  ship-yard.  Two  of  the 
carronades  were  on  the  Summit,  judiciously  planted  ;  two  were 
on  board  the  Abraham,  as  was  one  of  the  long  sixes,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  guns  (three  at  the  rock  excepted)  were  still 
on  board  the  ship. 

.Mark  divided  his  forces  for  the  night.  As  Bridget  habitual- 
ly lived  in  the  Rancocus'  cabins,  he  did  not  derange  her  house- 
hold at  all,  but  merely  strengthened  her  crew,  by  placing  Big- 
elow  and  Socrates  on  board  her,  each  with  his  family;  while 
Betts  assumed  the  command  of  the  crater,  having  for  his  compan- 
ion Jones.  These  were  small  garrisons  ;  but  the  fortresses  were 
strong,  considering  all  the  circumstances,  and  the  enemy  were 
uncivilized,  knowing  but  little  of  fire-arms.  By  nine  o'clock 
every  thing  was  arranged,  and  most  of  the  women  and  children 
were  on  their  beds,  though  no  one  there  undressed  that  night. 

Mark  and  Betts  met,  by  agreement,  alongside  of  the  schoon- 
er, as  soon  as  their  respective  duties  elsewhere  would  allow. 
As  the  reef,  proper,  was  an  island,  they  knew  no  enemy  could 
find  his  way  on  it  without  coming  by  water,  or  by  passing  over 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  287 

the  narrow  bridge  which  has  already  been  mentioned  as  cross- 
ing the  little  strait  near  the  spring.  This  rendered  them  toler- 
ably easy  for  the  moment,  though  Mark  had  assured  his  com- 
panion it  was  not  possible  for  the  canoes  to  get  to  the  reef 
under  several  hours.  Neither  of  the  men  could  sleep,  however, 
and  they  thought  it  as  well  to  be  on  the  look-out,  and  in  com- 
pany, as  to  be  tossing  about  in  their  berths,  or  hammocks,  by 
themselves.  The  conversation  turned  on  their  prospects,  almost 
as  a  matter  of  course. 

"  We  are  somewhat  short-handed,  sir,  to  go  to  quarters  ag'in 
them  vagabonds,"  observed  Betts,  in  reply  to  some  remark  of 
the  governor's.  "I  counted  a  hundred  and  three  of  their  craft 
when  they  was  off  the  peak  the  other  clay,  and  not  one  on  'em 
all  had  less  than  four  hands  aboard  it,  while  the  biggest  must 
have  had  fifty.  All  told,  I  do  think,  Mr.  Mark,  they  might 
muster  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  fighting  men." 

"  That  has  been  about  my  estimate  of  their  force,  Bob  ;  but, 
if  they  were  fifteen  thousand,  we  must  bring  them  to  action,  for 
we  fight  for  every  thing."' 

"Ay,  ay,  sir,"  answered  Betts,  ejecting  the  tobacco-juice  in 
the  customary  way,  "  there's  reason  in  roasted  eggs,  they  say, 
and  there's  reason  in  firing  a  few  broadsides  afore  a  body  gives 
up.  What  a  different  place  this  here  rock's  got  to  be,  sir,  from 
what  it  was  when  you  and  I  was  floating  sea-weed,  and  rafting 
loam  to  it,  to  make  a  melon  or  a  cucumber  bed !  Times  is 
changed,  sir,  and  we're  now  at  war.  Then  it  was  all  peace  and 
quiet ;  and  now  it's  all  hubbub  and  disturbance." 

"  We  have  got  our  wives  here  now,  and  that,  I  think,  you'll 
admit  is  something,  Bob,  when  you  remember  the  pains  taken 
by  yourself  to  bring  so  great  a  happiness  about." 

'■  Why,  yes,  sir — I'll  allow  the  wives  is  something" — 

"  Ship  ahoy !"  hailed  a  voice  in  good  English,  and  in  the 
most  approved  seaman-like  tones  of  the  voice. 

The  hail  came  from  the  margin  of  the  island  nearest  to  the 
reef,  or  that  which  was  connected  with  the  latter  by  means  of 
the  bridge,  but  not  from  a  point  very  near  the  latter. 


288  the    crater: 

"In  the  name  of  heavenly  marcy  !"  exclaimed  Bctts,  "  what 
can  that  mean,  governor?" 

"I  know  that  voice,"  said  Mark,  hurriedly;  "and  the  whole 
matter  begins  to  clear  up  to  me.     Who  hails  the  Rancocus?" 

"Is  that  ship  the  Rancocus,  then?"  answered  the  voice  from 
the  island. 

"The  Rancocus,  and  no  other — are  you  not  Bill  Brown,  her 
late  carpenter?" 

"The  very  same,  God  bless  yon,  Mr.  Woolston,  for  I  now 
know  your  voice,  too.  I'm  Bill,  and  right  down  glad  am  I  to 
have  things  turn  out  so.  I  half  suspected  the  truth  when  I  saw 
a  ship's  Bpars  this  arternoon  in  this  place,  though  little  did  I 
think,  yesterday,  of  ever  seeing  any  thing  more  of  the  old  'Co- 
cus.     Can  you  give  me  a  casl  across  this  hit  of  a  ferry,  sir?" 

"Are  you  alone,  Bill — or  who  have  you  for  companions?" 

"There's  two  on  as,  sir,  only — Jim  Wattles  and  I — seven  on 
us  was  saved  in  the  launch  ;  Mr.  Hillson  and  the  supercargo  both 
•  lying  afore  we  reached  the  land,  as  did  the  other  man,  we 
seven  still  living,  though  only  two  on  us  is  here." 

"  Arc  there  any  black  fellows  with  you — any  of  the  na- 
tives?" 

"  Not  one,  sir.  We  gave  'em  the  slip  two  hours  ago,  or  as 
soon  as  we  saw  the  ship's  masts,  being  bent  on  getting  afloat  in 
some  craft  or  other,  in  preference  to  stopping  with  savages  any 
longer.  No,  Mr.  Woolston  ;  no  fear  of  them  to-night,  for  they 
are  miles  and  miles  to  leeward,  hothcred  in  the  channels,  where 
they'll  be  pretty  sartain  to  pass  the  night;  though  you'll  hear 
from  'em  in  the  morning.  Jim  and  1  took  to  our  land  tacks, 
meeting  with  a  good  opportunity,  and  by  running  directly  in 
the  wind's  eye,  have  come  out  here.  We  hid  ourselves  till  the 
canoes  was  out  of  sight,  and  then  we  carried  sail  as  hard  as  we 
could.  So  give  us  a  cast  and  take  us  aboard  the  old  ship  again, 
Mr.  Woolston,  if  you  love  a  fellow-creatur',  and  an  old  ship- 
mate in  distress." 

Such  was  the  singular  dialogue  which  succeeded  the  unex- 
pected hail.    It  completely  put  a  new  face  on  things  at  the  reef. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  289 

As  Brown  was  a  valuable  man,  and  one  whose  word  he  had 
always  relied  on,  Mark  did  not  hesitate,  but  told  him  the  direc- 
tion to  the  bridge,  where  he  and  Betts  met  him  and  Wattles, 
after  each  of  the  parties  had  believed  the  others  to  be  dead  now 
fully  three  years ! 

The  two  recovered  seamen  of  the  Rancocus  were  alone,  hav- 
ing acted  in  perfect  good  faith  with  their  former  officer,  who 
led  them  to  the  awning,  gave  them  some  refreshment,  and 
heard  their  story.  The  account  given  by  Jones  for  the  first 
time  that  very  day,  turned  out  to  be  essentially  true.  When 
the  launch  was  swept  away  from  the  ship,  it  drove  down  to 
leeward,  passing  at  no  great  distance  from  the  crater,  of  which 
the  men  in  her  got  a  glimpse,  without  being  able  to  reach  it. 
The  attention  of  Hillson  was  mainly  given  to  keeping  the  boat 
from  filling  or  capsizing ;  and  this  furnished  abundance  of  oc- 
cupation. The  launch  got  into  one  of  the  channels,  and  by 
observing  the  direction,  which  was  nearly  east  and  west,  it 
succeeded  in  passing  through  all  the  dangers,  coming  out  to 
leeward  of  the  shoals.  As  everybody  believed  that  the  ship 
was  hopelessly  lost,  no  effort  was  made  to  get  back  to  the  spot 
where  she  had  been  left.  No  island  appearing,  Hillson  deter- 
mined to  run  off  to  the  westward,  trusting  to  fall  in  with  land 
of  some  sort  or  other.  The  provisions  and  water  were  soon 
consumed,  and  then  came  the  horrors  usual  to  such  scenes  at 
sea.  Hillson  was  one  of  the  first  that  perished,  his  previous 
excesses  unfitting  him  to  endure  privation.  But  seven  survived 
when  the  launch  reached  an  island  in  Waally's  part  of  the 
group,  so  often  mentioned.  There  they  fell  into  the  hands  of 
that  turbulent  and  warlike  chief.  Waally  made  the  seamen  his 
slaves,  treating  them  reasonably  well,  but  exacting  of  them  the 
closest  attention  to  his  interests.  Brown,  as  a  ship-carpenter, 
soon  became  a  favorite,  and  was  employed  in  fashioning  craft 
that  it  was  thought  might  be  useful  in  carrying  out  the  ambi- 
tious projects  of  his  master.  The  men  were  kept  on  a  small 
island,  and  were  watched  like  any  other  treasure,  having  no 
opportunity  to  communicate  with  any  of  those  whites  who  ap- 
13 


290  the    crater: 

peared  in  other  parts  of  the  group.  Thus,  while  Betts  passed 
two  months  with  Ooroony,  and  Heat  on  and  his  party  nearly  as 
much  more  time,  these  sailors,  who  heard  of  such  visitors,  could 
never  get  access  to  them.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  hostili- 
ties between  the  two  chiefs — Ooroony  being  then  in  the  ascendant 
— and  partly  owing  to  the  special  projects  of  Waally,  who,  by 
keeping  his  prisoners  busily  employed  on  his  fleet,  looked  forward 
to  the  success  which,  in  fact,  crowned  hi*  efforts  against  his  rival. 

At  length  Waally  undertook  the  expedition  which  had  ap 
peared  in  such  force  beneath  the  t  cliffs  of  the  peak.  By  this 
time,  Brown  had  become  so  great  a  favorite,  that  he  was  per- 
mitted to  accompany  the  chief,  ami  Wattles  was  brought 
along  as  a  companion  for  bis  shipmate.  The  remaining  five 
were  left  behind,  to  complete  a  craft  on  which  they  had  now 
been  long  employed,  and  which  was  intended  to  be  the  invinci- 
ble war-canoe  of  those  regions.  Brown  and  Wattles  had  been 
in  Waally's  own  canoe  when  the  terrible  echoes  so  much  alarmed 
the  uninstructed  beings  who  heard  it.  They  described  them  as 
much  the  most  imposing  echoes  they  had  ever  heard  ;  nor  did 
they,  at  first,  know  what  to  make  of  them,  themselves.  It  was 
only  on  reflection,  and  after  the  retreat  to  Rancocus  Island, 
that  Brown,  by  reasoning  on  the  subject,  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  whites,  who  were  supposed  to  be  in  possession  of 
the  place,  had  fired  a  gun,  which  had  produced  the  astounding 
uproar  that  had  rattled  so  far  along  the  cliff.  As  all  Brown's 
sympathies  were  with  the  unknown  people  of  his  own  color,  he 
kept  his  conjectures  to  himself,  and  managed  to  lead  Waally  in 
a  different  direction,  by  certain  conclusions  of  his  own  touching 
the  situation  of  the  reef  where  the  Rancocus  had  been  lost. 

Bill  Brown  was  an  intelligent  man  for  his  station  and  pur- 
suits. He  knew  the  courses  steered  by  the  launch,  and  had 
some  tolerably  accurate  notions  of  the  distances  run.  Accord- 
ing to  his  calculations,  that  reef  could  not  be  very  far  to  the 
northward  of  the  peak,  and,  by  ascending  the  mountains  on 
Rancocus  Island,  he  either  saw,  or  fancied  he  saw  the  looming 
of  land  in  that  part  of  the  ocean.     It  then  occurred  to  Brown 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  291 

that  portions  of  the  wreck  might  still  be  found  on  the  reef,  and 
become  the  means  of  effecting  his  escape  from  the  hands  of  his 
tyrants.  Waally  listened  to  his  statements  and  conjectures 
with  the  utmost  attention,  and  the  whole  fleet  put  to  sea  the 
very  next  day,  in  quest  of  this  treasure.  After  paddling  to 
windward  again,  until  the  peak  was  fairly  in  sight,  Brown 
steered  to  the  north-east,  a  course  that  brought  him  out,  after 
twenty-four  hours  of  toil,  under  the  lee  of  the  group  of  the 
reef.  This  discovery,  of  itself,  filled  Waally  with  exultation  and 
pride.  Here  were  no  cliffs  to  scale,  no  mysterious  mountain 
to  appal,  nor  any  visible  obstacle  to  oppose  his  conquests.  It 
is  true,  that  the  newly-discovered  territory  did  not  appear  to 
be  of  much  value,  little  besides  naked  rock,  or  broad  fields  of 
mud  and  sea-weed  intermingled,  rewarding  their  first  researches. 
But  better  things  were  hoped  for.  It  was  something  to  men 
whose  former  domains  were  so  much  circumscribed  and  gird- 
ed by  the  ocean,  to  find  even  a  foundation  for  a  new  empire. 
Brown  was  now  consulted  as  to  every  step  to  be  taken,  and  his 
advice  was  implicitly  followed.  Columbus  was  scarcely  a  greater 
man,  for  the  time  being,  at  the  court  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
than  Bill  Brown  immediately  became  at  the  court  of  Waally. 
His  words  were  received  as  prophecies,  his  opinions  as  oracles. 
Honest  Bill,  who  anticipated  no  more  from  his  discoveries 
than  the  acquisition  of  certain  portions  of  wood,  iron,  and  cop- 
per, with,  perhaps,  the  addition  of  a  little  rigging,  certain  sails, 
and  an  anchor  or  two,  acted,  at  first,  for  the  best  interests  of  his 
master.  He  led  the  fleet  along  the  margin  of  the  group  until  a 
convenient  harbor  was  found.  Into  this  all  the  canoes  entered, 
and  a  sandy  beach,  supplying  fresh  water  in  abundance,  having 
been  found,  an  encampment  was  made  for  the  night.  Several 
hours  of  daylight  remaining,  however,  when  these  great  pre- 
liminary steps  had  been  taken,  Brown  proposed  to  Waally  an 
exploring  expedition  in  a  couple  of  the  handiest  of  the  ca- 
noes. The  people  thus  employed  were  those  who  had  given 
the  alarm  to  the  governor.  On  that  occasion,  not  only  was  the 
boat  seen,  but  the  explorers  were  near  enough  to  the  reef  to 


292  the    crater: 

discover  not  only  the  crater,  but  the  spars  of  the  ship.  Here, 
then,  was  a  discovery  scarcely  less  important. than  that  of  the 
group  itself!  After  reasoning  on  the  tacts,  Waally  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  these,  after  all,  were  the  territories  that  Heaton 
and  his  party  had  come  to  seek,  and  that  here  he  should  find 
those  cows  which  he  had  once  seen,  and  which  he  coveted  more 
'than  any  other  riches  on  earth.  Ooroony  had  been  weak 
enough  to  alkw  strangers  in  possession  of  things  so  valuable  to 
pass  through  his  islands;  but  he,  Waally,  was  not  the  man  to 
imitate  this  folly.  Brown,  too,  began  to  think  that  the  white 
men  nought  were  to  be  found  here.  That  whites  were  in  the 
group,  was  plain  enough  by  the  ship,  and  he  supposed  they 
might  be  fishing  for  the  pearl-oyster,  or  gathering  bechc-le-mar 
for  the  Canton  market.  It  was  just  possible  that  a  colony  had 
established  itself  in  this  unfrequented  place,  and  that  the  party 
of  which  he  had  heard  so  much  had  come  hither  with  their 
stores  and  herds.  Not  the  smallest  Busoicion  at  first  crossed 
his  mind  that  he  there  beheld  the  spars  of  the  Rancocus  ;  but 
it  was  enough  for  him  and  Wattles  that  Christian  men  were 
there,  and  that,  in  all  probability,  they  were  men  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race.  No  sooner  was  it  ascertained  that  the  explorers 
were  in  a  false  channel,  and  that  it  would  not  be  in  their  power 
to  penetrate  further  in  their  cauoes,  than  our  two  seamen  deter- 
mined to  run  and  attach  themselves  to  the  strangers.  They 
naturally  thought  that  they  should  find  a  vessel  armed  and  man- 
ned, and  ready  to  stand  out  to  sea  as  soon  as  her  officers  were  ap- 
prized of  the  danger  that  threatened  them,  and  did  not  hesitate 
about  joining  their  fortune  with  hers,  in  preference  to  remaining 
with  Waally  any  longer.  Freedom  possesses  a  charm  for  which 
no  other  advantage  can  compensate,  and  these  two  old  sea-dogs, 
who  had  worked  like  horses  all  their  lives,  in  their  original 
calling,  preferred  returning  to  the  ancient  drudgery,  rather  than 
live  with  Waally  in  the  rude  abundance  of  savage  chiefs.  The 
escape  was  easily  enough  made,  as  soon  as  it  was  dark,  Brown 
and  Wattles  being  on  the  shore  most  of  the  time,  under  the 
pretence  that  it  was  necessary,  in  order  that  they  might  ascer- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  293 

tain  the  character  of  these  unknown  colonists  by  signs  under- 
stood best  by  themselves. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  explanations  that  the  two  recov- 
ered seamen  made  to  their  former  officer.  In  return,  the  gov- 
ernor as  briefly  related  to  them  the  manner  in  which  the  ship 
had  been  saved,  and  the  history  of  the  colony  down  to  that  mo- 
ment. When  both  tales  had  been  told,  a  consultation  on  the 
subject  of  future  proceedings  took  place,  quite  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Brown  and  his  companion,  though  delighted  to  meet 
their  old  shipmates,  were  greatly  disappointed  in  not  finding  a 
sea-going  vessel  ready  to  receive  them.  They  did  not  scruple 
to  say  that  had  they  known  the  actual  state  of  things  on  the 
reef,  they  would  not  have  left  the  savages,  but  trusted  to  being 
of  more  service  even  to  their  natural  friends,  by  continuing  with 
Waally,  in  their  former  relation,  than  by  taking  the  step  they 
had.  Repentance,  or  regrets,  however,  came  too  late;  and  now 
they  were  fairly  in  for  it,  neither  expressed  any  other  determina- 
tion than  to  stand  by  the  service  into  which  they  had  just  en- 
tered, honestly,  if  not  quite  as  gladly  as  they  had  anticipated. 

The  governor  and  Betts  both  saw  that  Brown  and  Wattles 
entertained  a  high  respect  for  the  military  prowess  of  the  In- 
dian chief.  They  pronounced  him  to  be  not  only  a  bold,  but 
an  adroit  warrior ;  one  full  of  resources  and  ingenuity,  when 
his  means  were  taken  into  the  account.  The  number  of  men 
with  him,  however,  Brown  assured  Mark,  was  less  than  nine 
hundred,  instead  of  exceeding  a  thousand,  as  had  been  sup- 
posed from  the  count  made  on  the  cliffs.  As  it  now  was  ex- 
plained, a  great  many  women  were  in  the  canoes.  Waally, 
moreover,  was  not  altogether  without  fire-arms.  He  was  master 
of  a  dozen  old,  imperfect  muskets,  and  what  was  more,  he  had 
a  four-pound  gun.  Ammunition,  however,  was  very  scarce,  and 
of  shot  for  his  gun  he  had  but  three.  Each  of  these  shots  had 
been  fired  several  times,  in  his  wars  with  Ooroony,  and  days 
had  been  spent  in  hunting  them  up,  after  they  had*  done  their 
work,  and  of  replacing  them  in  the  chief's  magazine.  Brown 
could  not  say  that  they  had  done  much  mischief,  having,  in 


294  the    crater: 

every  instance,  been  fired  at  long  distances,  and  with  a  very 
uncertain  aim.  The  business  of  sighting  guns  was  not  very 
well  understood  by  the  great  mass  of  Christians,  half  a  century 
since  ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  savages  should  know 
little  or  nothing  about  it.  Waally's  gunners,  according  to 
Brown's  account  of  the  matter,  could  never  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  the  bore  of  a  gun  was  not  exactly  parallel  to  its 
exterior  surface,  and  they  invariably  aimed  too  high,  by  sight- 
ing along  the  upper  side  of  the  piece.  This  same  fault  is  very 
common  with  the  inexperienced  in  using  a  musket;  for,  anxious 
to  get  a  sight  of  the  end  of  their  piece,  they  usually  stick  it  up 
into  the  air  and  overshoot  their  object.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
Brown,  on  the  whole,  that  little  was  to  be  apprehended  from 
Waally's  fire  arm-.  The  spear  ami  dub  were  the  weapons  to 
be  dreaded  ;  and  with  these  the  islanders  were  said  to  be  very 
expert.'  But  the  disparity  in  numbers  was  the  main  ground  of 
apprehension. 

When  Brown  was  told  how  near  the  schooner  was  to  being 
launched,  he  earnestly  begged  the  governor  to  let  him  and 
Bigelow  go  to  work  and  put  her  into  the  water,  immediately. 
Every  thing  necessary  to  a  cruise  was  on  board  her,  even  to  her 
provisions  and  water,  the  arrangements  having  been  made  to 
launch  her  with  her  sails  bent ;  and,  once  in  the  water,  Bill 
thought  she  would  prove  of  the  last  importance  to  the  defence. 
If  the  worst  came  to  the  worst,  all  hands  could  get  on  board 
her,  and  by  standing  through  some  of  the  channels  that  were 
clear  of  canoes,  escape  into  the  open  water.  Once  there, 
Waally  could  do  nothing  with  them,  and  they  might  be  govern- 
ed by  circumstances. 

Woolston  viewed  things  a  little  differently.  He  loved  the 
reef;  it  had  become  dear  to  him  by  association  and  history, 
and  he  did  not  relish  the  thought  of  abandoning  it.  There 
was  too  much  property  at  risk,  to  say  nothing  of  the  ship, 
which  would  doubtless  be  burned  for  its  metals,  should  the  In- 
dians get  possession,  even  for  a  day.  In  that  ship  he  had 
sailed  ;  in  that  ship  he  had  been  married  ;  in  that  ship  his 


or,    vuloan's    peak.  295 

daughter  had  been  born ;  and  in  that  ship  Bridget  loved  still 
to  dwell,  even  more  than  she  affected  all  the  glories  of  the 
Eden  of  the  peak.  That  ship  was  not  to  be  given  up  to  sav- 
ages without  a  struggle.  Nor  did  Mark  believe  any  thing  would 
be  gained  by  depriving  the  men  of  their  rest  during  the  accus- 
tomed hours.  Early  in  the  morning,  with  the  light  itself,  he 
did  intend  to  have  Bigelow  under  the  schooner's  bottom  ;  but 
he  saw  no  occasion  for  his  working  in  the  dark.  Launching 
was  a  delicate  business,  and  some  accident  might  happen  in  the 
obscurity.  After  talking  the  matter  over,  therefore,  all  hands 
retired  to  rest,  leaving  one  woman  at  the  crater,  and  one  on 
board  the  ship,  on  the  look-out ;  women  being  preferred  to 
men,  on  this  occasion,  in  order  that  the  latter  might  reserve 
their  strength  for  the  coming  struggle. 

At  the  appointed  hour  next  morning,  every  one  on  the  reef 
was  astir  at  the  first  peep  of  day.  No  disturbance  had  occurred 
in  the  night,  and,  what  is  perhaps  a  little  remarkable,  the  fe- 
male sentinels  had  not  given  any  false  alarm.  As  soon  as  a 
look  from  the  Summit  gave  the  governor  reason  to  believe  that 
Waally  was  not  very  near  him,  he  ordered  preparations  to  be 
made  for  the  launch  of  the  Friend  Abraham  White.  A  couple 
of  hours'  work  was  still  required  to  complete  the  desirable  task; 
and  everybody  set  about  his  or  her  assigned  duty  with  activity 
and  zeal.  Some  of  the  women  pi'epared  the  breakfast ;  others 
carried  ammunition  to  the  different  guns,  while  Betts  went 
round  and  loaded  them,  one  and  all ;  and  others,  again,  picked 
up  such  articles  of  value  as  had  been  overlooked  in  the  haste  of 
the  previous  evening,  carrying  them  either  into  the  crater,  or 
on  board  the  ship. 

On  examining  his  fortifications  by  daylight,  the  governor 
resolved  to  set  up  something  more  secure  in  the  way  of  a  gate 
for  the  crater.  He  also  called  off  two  or  three  of  the  men  to 
get  out  the  boarding-netting  of  the  ship,  which  was  well  pro- 
vided iu  that  respect;  a  good  provision  having  been  made,  by 
way  of  keeping  the  Feejee  people  at  arms'  length.  These  two 
extraordinary  offices  delayed  the  work  on  the  ways ;  and  when 


296  the    crater: 

the  whole  colony  went  to  breakfast,  which  they  did  about  an 
hour  after  sunrise,  the  schooner  was  not  yet  in  the  water, 
though  quite  ready  to  be  put  there.  Mark  announced  that 
there  was  no  occasion  to  be  in  a  hurry  ;  no  canoes  were  in 
sight,  and  there  was  time  to  have  every  thing  done  deliberately 
and  in  order. 

This  security  came  very  near  proving  fatal  to  the  whole  par- 
ty. Most  of  the  men  breakfasted  under  the  awning,  which  was 
near  their  work;  while  the  women  took  that  meal  in  their  re- 
spective quarters.  Some  of  the  last  were  in  the  crater,  and 
some  in  the  ship.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  awning  was 
erected  near  the  Bpring,  and  thai  the  spring  was  but  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  bridge.  This  bridge,  it  will  also  be  recollected, 
connected  the  reef  with  an  island  thai  Btrctched  away  for  miles, 
and  which  had  formed  the  original  range  for  the  swine,  after 
the  changes  that  succeeded  the  eruption.  It  was  composed  of 
merely  two  long  ship's  planks,  the  passage  being  only  some 
fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  width. 

The  governor,  now,  seldom  ate  with  his  people.  He  knew 
enough  of  human  nature  to  understand  that  authority  was  best 
preserved  by  avoiding  familiarity.  Besides,  there  is,  in  truth, 
no  association  more  unpleasant  to  those  whose  manners  have 
been  cultivated,  than  that  of  the  table,  with  the  rude  and  unre- 
fined. Bridget,  for  instance,  could  hardly  be  expected  to  eat 
with  the  wives  of  the  seamen  ;  and  Mark  naturally  wished  to 
eat  with  his  own  family.  On  that  occasion  he  had  taken  his 
meal  in  the  cabin  of  the  Rancocus,  as  usual,  and  had  come  down 
to  the  awning  to  see  that  the  hands  turned  to  as  soon  as  they 
were  through  with  their  own  breakfasts.  Just  as  he  was  about 
to  issue  the  necessary  order,  the  air  was  filled  with  frightful 
yells,  and  a  stream  of  savages  poured  out  of  an  opening  in  the 
rocks,  on  to  the  plain  of  the  "  hog  pasture,"  as  the  adjoining- 
field  was  called,  rushing  forward  in  a  body  toward  the  crater. 
They  had  crept  along  under  the  rocks  by  following  a  channel, 
and  now  broke  cover  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  point 
they  intended  to  assail. 


OR,     VULCAN    8     PEAK.  297 

The  governor  behaved  admirably  on  this  trying  occasion. 
He  issued  his  orders  clearly,  calmly,  and  promptly.  Calling  on 
Bigelow  and  Jones  by  name,  he  ordered  them  to  withdraw  the 
bridge,  which  could  easily  be  done  by  hauling  over  the  planks 
by  means  of  wheels  that  had  long  been  fitted  for  that  purpose. 
The  bridge  withdrawn,  the  channel,  or  harbor,  answered  all  the 
purposes  of  a  ditch  ;  though  the  South  Sea  islanders  would  think 
but  little  of  swimming  across  it.  Of  course,  Waally's  men 
knew  nothing  of  this  bridge,  nor  did  they  kuow  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  basin  between  them  and  their  prey.  They  rushed 
directly  toward  the  ship-yard,  and  loud  were  their  yells  of  dis- 
appointment when  they  found  a  broad  reach  of  water  still 
separating  them  from  the  whites.  Naturally  they  looked  for  the 
point  of  connection  ;  but,  by  this  time,  the  planks  were  wheeled 
in,  and  the  communication  was  severed.  At  this  instant, 
Waally  had  all  his  muskets  discharged,  and  the  gun  fired  from 
the  catamaran,  on  which  it  was  mounted.  No  one  was  injured 
by  this  volley,  but  a  famous  noise  was  made  ;  and  noise  passed 
for  a  good  deal  in  the  warfare  of  that  day  and  region. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  colonists.  At  the  first  alarm 
everybody  rushed  to  arms,  and  every  post  was  manned,  or 
womaned,  in  a  minute.  On  the  poop  of  the  ship  was  planted 
one  of  the  cannon,  loaded  with  grape,  and  pointed  so  as  to 
sweep  the  strait  of  the  bridge.  It  is  true,  the  distance  was  fully 
a  mile,  but  Betts  had  elevated  the  gun  with  a  view  to  its  send- 
ing its  missiles  as  far  as  was  necessary.  The  other  carronades 
on  the  Summit  were  pointed  so  as  to  sweep  the  portion  of  the 
hog  pasture  that  was  nearest,  and  which  was  now  swarming 
with  enemies.  Waally,  himself,  was  in  front,  and  was  evidently 
selecting  a  party  that  was  to  swim  for  the  sandy  beach,  a  sort 
of  forlorn  hope.  No  time  was  to  be  lost.  Juno,  a  perfect  hero- 
ine in  her  way,  stood  by  the  gun  on  the  poop,  while  Dido  was 
at  those  on  the  Summit,  each  brandishing,  or  blowing  a  lighted 
match.  The  governor  made  the  preconcerted  signal  to  the  last, 
aud  she  applied  the  match.  Away  went  the  grape,  rattling 
along  the  surface  of  the  opposite  rocks,  and  damaging  at  least 
13* 


298  the    crater: 

a  dozen  of  Waally's  men.  Three  were  killed  outright,  and  the 
wounds  of  the  rest  were  very  serious.  A  yell  followed,  and  a 
young  chief  rushed  toward  the  strait,  with  frantic  cries,  as  if 
bent  on  leaping  across  the  chasm.  He  was  followed  by  a  hun- 
dred warriors.  Mark  now  made  the  signal  to  Juno.  Not  a 
moment  was  lost  by  the  undaunted  girl,  who  touched  off  her 
gun  in  the  very  nick  of  time.  Down  came  the  grape,  hissing 
along  the  reef;  and,  rebounding  from  its  surface,  away  it  leaped 
across  the  strait,  flying  through  the  thickest  of  the  assailants. 
A  dozen  more  suffered  by  that  discharge.  Waally  now  saw 
that  a  crisis  was  reached,  and  his  efforts  to  recover  the  ground 
losl  were  worthy  of  his  reputation,  ('ailing  to  the  swimmers, 
he  succeeded  in  getting  them  down  into  the  water  in  scores. 

The  governor  had  ordered  those  mar  him  to  their  stations. 
This  took  Jones  and  Bigelow  <>n  hoard  the  Abraham,  where 
two  carronades  were  pointed  through  the  stern  ports,  forming  a 
battery  to  rake  the  hog  pasture,  which  it  was  foreseen  must  be 
the  held  of  battle  if  the  enemy  came  by  land,  as  it  was  the  only 
island  that  came  near  enough  to  the  reef  to  be  used  in  that  way. 
As  for  Mark  himself,  accompanied  by  Brown  and  Wattles,  all 
well  armed,  he  held  his  party  in  reserve,  as  a  corps  to  be  moved 
wherever  it  might  be  most  needed.  At  that  all-important  mo- 
ment a  happy  idea  occurred  to  the  young  governor.  The 
schooner  was  all  ready  for  launching.  The  reserve  were  under 
her  bottom,  intending  to  make  a  stand  behind  the  covers  of  the 
yard,  when  Mark  found  himself  at  one  of  the  spur-shores,  just 
as  Brown,  armed  to  the  teeth,  came  up  to  the  other. 

"Lay  aside  your  arms,"  cried  the  governor,  "and  knock 
away  your  spur-shore,  Bill !  Down  with  it,  while  I  knock  this 
away  !     Look  out  on  deck,  for  we  are  about  to  launch  you  !" 

These  words  were  just  uttered,  when  the  schooner  began  to 
move.  All  the  colonists  now  cheered,  and  away  the  Abraham 
went,  plunging  like  a  battering-ram  into  the  midst  of  the  swim- 
mers. While  dipping  deepest,  Bigelow  and  Jones  fired  both 
their  carronades,  the  shot  of  which  threw  the  whole  basin  into 
foam.     This  combination  of  the  means  of  assault  was  too  much 


OR,     VULCAN*    S      PEAK 


299 


for  savages  to  resist.  Waally  was  instantly  routed.  His  main 
body  retreated  into  the  coves  of  the  channel,  where  their  ca 
noes  lay,  while  the  swimmers  and  stragglers  got  out  of  harm's 
way  in  the  best  manner  they  could. 

Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  The  Abraham  was  brought 
up  by  a  hawser,  as  is  usual,  and  was  immediately  boarded  by 
Mark,  Brown,  and  Wattles.  This  gave  her  a  crew  of  five  men, 
who  were  every  way  equal  to  handling  her.  Betts  was  left  iu 
command  of  the  reef,  with  the  remainder  of  the  forces.  To 
make  sail  required  but  two  minutes,  and  Mark  was  soon  under 
way,  rounding  Loam  Island — or  what  had  once  been  Loam  Island, 
for  it  was  now  connected  with  the  hog  pasture — in  order  to  get 
into  the  reach  where  Waally  had  his  forces.  This  reach  was 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  and  gave  room  for  manoeuvring.  Al- 
though the  schooner  bore  down  to  the  assault  with  a  very  de- 
termined air,  it  was  by  no  means  Mark's  cue  to  come  to  close 
quarters.  Being  well  to  windward,  with  plenty  of  room,  he 
kept  the  Abraham  tacking,  yawing,  waring,  and  executing  other 
of  the  devices  of  nautical  delay,  while  his  men  loaded  and  fired 
her  guns  as  fast  as  they  could.  There  was  more  noise  and 
smoke  than  there  was  bloodshed,  as  commonly  happens  on  such 
occasions ;  but  these  sufficed  to  secure  the  victory.  The  sav- 
ages were  soon  in  a  real  panic,  and  no  authority  of  Waally's 
could  check  their  flight.  Away  they  paddled  to  leeward,  strain- 
ing every  nerve  to  get  away  from  pursuers,  whom  they  suppos- 
ed to  be  murderously  bent  on  killing  them  to  a  man.  A  more 
unequivocal  flight  never  occurred  in  war. 

Although  the  governor  was  much  in  earnest,  he  was  not  half 
as  bloodthirsty  as  his  fleeing  enemies  imagined.  Every  dictate 
of  prudence  told  him  not  to  close  with  the  canoes  until  he  had 
plenty  of  sea-room.  The  course  they  were  steering  would  take 
them  all  out  of  the  group,  into  the  open  water,  in  ihe  course 
of  three  or  four  hours,  and  he  determined  to  follow  at  a  con- 
venient distance,  just  hastening  the  flight  by  occasional  hints 
from  his  guns.  In  this  manner,  the  people  of  the  Abraham 
had  much  the  easiest  time  of  it,  for  thev  did  little  besides  sail. 


300  THE     crater: 

while  the  savages  had  to  use  all  their  paddles  to  keep  out  of 'the 
schooner's  way ;  they  sailed,  also,  but  their  speed  under  then 
cocoa-nut  canvas  was  not  sufficient  to  keep  clear  of  the  Friend 
Abraham  White,  which  proved  to  be  a  very  fast  vessel,  as  well 
as  one  easily  handled. 

At  length,  Waally  found  his  fleet  in  the  open  ocean,  where 
he  trusted  the  chase  would  end.  But  he  had  greatly  mistaken 
the  course  of  events,  in  applying  that  "  flattering  uuction."  It 
was  now  that  the  governor  commenced  the  chase  in  good 
earnest,  actually  running  down  throe  of  the  canoott,  and  making 
prisoners  of  one  of  t li< ■  crews.  In  this  canoe  wa.-  a  young  war- 
rior, whom  Bill  Brown  and  Wattles  at  once  recognized  as  a 
favorite  son  of  the  chief.  Here  was  a  most  important  conquest, 
and  Mark  turned  it  to  account.  He  selected  n  proper  agent 
from  among  the  captives,  and  sent  him  with  a  palm-branch  to 
Waally  himself,  with  proposals  for  an  exchange.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  communicating,  since  Brown  and  Wattles  both 
spoke  the  language  of  the  natives  with  great  fluency.  Three 
years  of  captivity  had,  at  least,  taught  them  that  much. 

A  good  deal  of  time  was  wasted  before  Waally  could  be 
brought  to  confide  in  the  honor  of  his  enemies.  At  last,  love 
for  his  offspring  brought  him,  unarmed,  alongside  of  the 
schooner,  and  the  governor  met  this  formidable  diief,  face  to 
face.  He  found  the  latter  a  wily  and  intelligent  wage.  Nev- 
ertheless, he  had  not  the  art  to  conceal  his  strong  affection  for 
his  son,  and  on  that  passion  did  Mark  Woolston  [''ay.  Waally 
offered  canoes,  robes  of  feathers,  whales'  teeth,  an. I  every  thing 
that  was  most  esteemed  among  his  own  people,  a*  n  ransom  for 
the  boy.  But  this  was  not  the  exchange  the  governor  desired 
to  make.  He  offered  to  restore  the  son  to  the  arms  of  his 
father  as  soon  as  the  five  seamen  who  were  still  prisoners  on 
his  citadel  island  should  be  brought  alongside  ol  the  schooner. 
If  these  terms  were  rejected,  the  lad  must  take  the  fate  of 
war. 

Great  was  the  struggle  in  the  bosom  of  Waally,  oetween  nat- 
ural affection  and  the  desire  to  retain  his  captives.     After  two 


OR,     VULCAN    S      PEAK 


301 


hours  of  subterfuges,  artifices,  and  tricks,  the  former  prevailed, 
and  a  treaty  was  made.  Agreeably  to  its  conditions,  the 
schooner  was  to  pilot  the  fleet  of  canoes  to  Betto's  group, 
which  could  easily  be  done,  as  Mark  knew  not  only  its  bearings, 
but  its  latitude  and  longitude.  As  soon  as  this  was  effected, 
Waally  engaged  to  send  a  messenger  for  the  seamen,  and  to  re- 
main himself  on  board  the  Abraham  until  the  exchange  was 
completed.  The  chief  wished  to  attach  terms,  by  which  the 
colonists  were  to  aid  him  in  more  effectually  putting  down 
Ooroony,  who  was  checked  rather  than  conquered ;  but  Mark 
refused  to  listen  to  any  such  proposition.  He  was  more  dis- 
posed to  aid,  than  to  overcome  the  kind-hearted  Ooroony,  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  have  an  interview  with  him  before  he  re- 
turned from  the  intended  voyage. 

Some  delay  would  have  occurred,  to  enable  Mark  to  let 
Bridget  know  of  his  intended  absence,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
solicitude  of  Betts.  Finding  the  sails  of  the  schooner  had 
gone  out  of  sight  to  leeward,  Bob  manned  the  Neshamony, 
and  followed  as  a  support.  In  the  event  of  a  wreck,  for  in- 
stance, his  presence  might  have  been  of  the  last  importance. 
He  got  alongside  of  the  Abraham  just  as  the  treaty  was  con- 
cluded, and  was  in  time  to  carry  back  the  news  to  the  crater, 
where  he  might  expect  still  to  arrive  that  evening.  "With  this 
arrangement,  therefore,  the  parties  separated,  Betts  beating 
back,  through  the  channels  of  the  reef,  and  the  governor  lead- 
ing off  to  the  northward  and  westward,  under  short  canvas ;  all 
of  Waally' s  canoes  catamarans,  etc.,  following  about  a  mile 
astern  of  him. 


;02  the    crater: 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

"Nay,  shrink  not  from  the  word  '  farewell  V 

As  If 'twere  friendship's  Anal  knell; 

Such  fears  may  prove  hut  vain ; 

80  changeful  is  life's  fleeting  day, 

Whene'er  wo  sever— hope  may  say, 

We  part — to  meet  again.'1 

Kern \nn  Bakton. 

The  Abraham  went  under  short  canvas,  and  she  was  just  three 
days,  running  dead  before  the  wind,  ere  she  came  in  sight  of 
Waally's  islands.  Heaving-to  to  windward  of  the  group,  the  ca- 
noes all  passed  into  their  respective  harbors,  leaving  the  schooner 
in  the  offing,  with  the  hostages  on  board,  waiting  for  the  fulfilment 
of  the  treaty.  The  next  day,  AVaallv  himself  reappeared,  bring- 
ing with  him  Dickinson,  Harris,  Johnson,  Edwards,  and  Bright 
— the  five  seamen  of  the  Rancocus  that  had  so  long  been  cap- 
tives in  his  hands.  It  went  hard  with  that  savage  chief  to  relin- 
quish these  men,  but  he  loved  his  son  even  more  than  he  loved 
power.  As  for  the  men  themselves,  language  cannot  portray 
their  delight.  They  were  not  only  rejoiced  to  be  released,  but 
their  satisfaction  was  heightened  on  finding  into  whose  hands 
they  had  fallen.  These  men  had  all  kept  themselves  free  from 
wives,  and  returned  to  'their  color — that  word  being  now  more 
appropriate  than  colors — or  ensign,  unshackled  by  any  embar- 
rassing engagements.  They  at  once  made  the  Abraham  a 
power  in  that  part  of  the  world.  With  twelve  able  seamen — all 
strong,  athletic,  and  healthy  men — to  handle  his  craft,  and  with 
his  two  carronades  and  a  long  six,  the  governor  felt  as  if  he 
might  interfere  with  the  political  relations  of  the  adjoining 
states  with  every  prospect  of  being  heard.  Waally  was  proba- 
bly of  the  same  opinion,  for  he  made  a  great  effort  to  extend 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  303 

the  treaty  so  far  as  to  overturn  Ooroony  altogether,  and  thus  se- 
cure to  their  two  selves  the  control  of  all  that  region.  Woolston 
inquired  of  Waally  in  what  he  should  be  benefited  by  such  a 
policy ;  when  the  wily  savage  told  him,  with  the  gravest  face 
imaginable,  that  he,  Mark,  might  retain,  in  addition*to  his  terri- 
tories at  the  reef,  Rancocus  Island  !  The  governor  thanked  his 
fellow-potentate  for  this  hint,  and  now  took  occasion  to  assure 
him  that,  in  future,  each  and  all  of  Waally's  canoes  must  keep 
away  from  Rancocus  Island  altogether ;  that  island  belonged  to 
him,  and  if  any  more  expeditions  visited  it,  the  call  should  be 
returned  at  Waally's  habitations.  This  answer  brought  on  an 
angry  discussion,  in  which  Waally,  once  or  twice,  forgot  him- 
self a  little ;  and  when  he  took  his  leave,  it  was  not  in  the  best 
humor  possible. 

Mark  now  deliberated  on  the  state  of  things  around  him. 
Jones  knew  Ooroony  well,  having  been  living  in  his  territories 
until  they  were  overrun  by  his  powerful  enemy,  and  the  gov- 
ernor sent  him  to  find  that  chief,  using  a  captured  canoe,  of 
which  they  had  kept  two  or  three  alongside  of  the  schooner, 
for  the  purpose.  Jones,  who  was  a  sworn  friend  of  the  unfor- 
tunate chief,  went  as  negotiator.  Care  was  taken  to  land  at  the 
right  place,  under  cover  of  the  Abraham's  guns,  and,  in  six  hours, 
Mark  had  the  real  gratification  of  taking  Ooroony — good,  honest, 
upright  Ooroony—  by  the  hand,  on  the  quarter-deck  of -his  own 
vessel.  Much  as  the  chief  had  suffered  and  lost,  within  the  last 
two  years,  a  gleam  of  returning  happiness  shone  on  him  when 
he  placed  his  foot  on  the  deck  of  the  schooner.  His  reception 
by  the  governor  was  honorable,  and  even  touching.  Mark 
thanked  him  for  his  kindness  to  his  wife,  to  his  sister,  to 
Heaton,  and  to  his  friend  Bob.  In  point  of  fact,  without  this 
kindness,  he,  Woolston,  might  then  have  been  a  solitarv  hermit, 
without  the  means  of  getting  access  to  any  of  his  fellow- 
creatures,  and  doomed  to  remaiu  in  that  condition  all  his  davs. 
The  obligation  was  now  frankly  admitted,  and  Ooroony  shed 
tears  of  joy  when  he  thus  found  that  his  good  deeds  were  re- 
membered and  appreciated. 


304  the    crater: 

It  has  long  been  a  question  with  moralists,  whether  or  not 
good  and  evil  bring  their  rewards  and  punishments  in  this 
state  of  being.  While  it  might  be  dangerous  to  inter  the  affir- 
mative of  this  mooted  point,  as  it  would  be  cutting  off  the 
future  and  its  consequences  from  those  whose  real  hopes  and 
fears  ought  to  be  mainly  concentrated  in  the  life  that  is  to  come, 
it  would  seem  to  be  presuming  to  suppose  that  principles  like 
these  ever  can  be  nugatory  in  the  control  even  of  our  daily 
concerns. 

If  it  be  true  that  God  "  visits  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generations  of  them  that 
hate  him,"  and  that  the  seed  of  the  righteous  man  is  never  seen 
begging  bis  bread,  there  is  much  reason  to  believe  that  a  por- 
tion of  our  transgressions  is  to  meet  with  its  punishment  here 
.hi  earth.  We  think  nothing  can  be  more  apparent  than  the 
fact  that,  in  the  light  of  mere  worldly  expediency,  an  upright 
and  high-principled  course  leads  to  more  happiness  than  one 
that  is  the  reverse;  and  if  "  honesty  is  the  best  policy,"  after 
all  the  shifts  and  expedients  of  cupidity,  so  does  virtue  lead 
mpst  unerringly  to  happiness  here,  as  it  opens  up  the  way  to 
happiness  hereafter. 

All  the  men  of  the  Abraham  had  heard  of  Ooroony,  and  of 
his  benevolent  qualities.  It  was  his  goodness,  indeed,  that 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  downfall ;  for  had  he  punished  Waally 
as  he  deserved  to  be,  when  the  power  was  in  his  hands,  that 
turbulent  chief,  who  commenced  life  as  his  lawful  tributary, 
would  never  have  gained  a  point  where  he  was  so  near  becom- 
ing his  master.  Every  man  on  board  now  pressed  around  the 
good  old  chief,  who  heard  on  all  sides  of  him  assurances  of  re- 
spect and  attachment,  with  pledges  of  assistance.  When  this 
touching  scene  was  over,  Mark  held  a  council  on  the  quarter- 
deck, iu  which  the  whole  matter  of  the  political  condition  of 
the  group  was  discussed,  aud  the  wants  and  dangers  of  Ooroony 
laid  bare. 

As  commonly  happens  everywhere,  civilized  nations  and 
popular  governments   forming  no  exceptions   to  the  rule,  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  305 

ascendency  of  evil  in  this  cluster  of  remote  and  savage  islands 
was  owing  altogether  to  the  activity  and  audacity  of  a  few 
wicked  men,  rather  than  to  the  inclination  of  the  mass.  Tho 
people  greatly  preferred  the  mild  sway  of  their  lawful  chief,  to 
the  violence  and  exactions  of  the  turbulent  warrior  who  had 
worked  his  way  into  the  ascendant ;  and  if  a  portion  of  the 
population  had,  unwittingly,  aided  the  latter  in  his  designs, 
under  the  momentary  impulses  of  a  love  of  change,  they  now 
fully  repented  of  their  mistake,  and  would  gladly  see  the  old 
condition  of  things  restored.  There  was  one  island,  in  partic- 
ular, which  might  be  considered  as  the  seat  of  power  in  the 
entire  group.  Ooroony  had  been  born  on  it,  and  it  had  long 
been  the  residence  of  his  family ;  but  Waally  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing him  off  it,  and  of  intimidating  its  people,  who,  in  secret, 
pined  for  the  return  of  their  ancient  rulers.  If  this  island 
could  be  again  put  in  bis  possession,  it  would,  itself,  give  the 
good  chief  such  an  accession  of  power,  as  would  place  him,  at 
once,  on  a  level  with  his  competitor,  and  bring  the  war  back  to 
a  struggle  on  equal  terms.  Could  this  be  done  with  the  assis 
tance  of  the  schooner,  the  moral  effect  of  such  an  alliance  would, 
in  all  probability,  secure  Ooroony' s  ascendency  as  long  as  such 
an  alliance  lasted. 

It  would  not  have  been  easy  to  give  a  clearer  illustration  of 
the  truth  that  "  knowledge  is  power,"  than  the  case  now  before 
us  affords.  Here  was  a  small  vessel,  of  less  than  a  hundred 
tons  in  measurement,  with  a  crew  of  twelve  men,  and  armed 
with  three  guns,  that  was  not  only  deemed  to  be  sufficient,  but 
which  was,  in  fact,  amply  sufficient  to  change  a  dynasty  among 
a  people  who  counted  their  hosts  in  thousands.  The  expe- 
dients of  civilized  life  gave  the  governor  this  ascendency, 
and  he  determined  to  use  it  justly,  and  in  moderation.  It  was 
his  wish  to  avoid  bloodshed;  and  after  learning  all  the  facts 
he  could,  he  set  about  his  ta>k  coolly  and  with  prudence. 

The  first  thing  done,  was  to  cany  the  schooner  in,  within 
reach  of  shot  of  Waally's  principal  fortress,  where  his  ruling 
chiefs  reshled,  and  which,  iu  fact,  was  the  hold  where  about  a 


306  the    crater: 

hundred  of  his  followers  dwelt— fellows  that  kept  the  whole 
island  in  fear,  and  who  rendered  it  subservient  to  Waally's 
wishes.  This  fortress,  fort,  or  whatever  it  should  be  called,  was 
then  summoned,  its  chief  being  commanded  to  quit,  not  only 
the  hold,  but  the  island  altogether.  The  answer  was  a  defiance. 
As  time  was  given  for  the  reception  of  this  reply,  measures  had 
been  taken  to  support  the  summons  by  a  suitable  degree  of 
concert  and  activity.  Ooroony  landed  in  person,  and  got  among 
his  friends  on  the  island,  who,  assured  of  the  support  of  the 
schooner,  took  up  arms  to  a  man,  and  appeared  in  a  force  that, 
of  itself,  was  sufficient  to  drive  Waally's  men  into  the  sea. 
Nevertheless,  tin-  Ias1  made  a  Bhow  of  resistance  until  the  gover- 
nor fired  his  six-pounder  at  them.  The  shot  passed  through 
the  wooden  pickets,  and,  though  it  hurt  no  one,  it  made  such  a 
clatter,  that  the  chief  in  command  sent  out  a  palm-branch,  and 
submitted.  This  bloodless  conquest  caused  a  revolution  at 
once,  in  Beveral  of  the  less  important  islands,  and  in  eight-and- 
forty  hours,  Ooroony  found  himself  where  he  had  been  when 
Betts  appeared  in  the  Neshamony.  Waally  was  fain  to  make 
the  best  of  matters,  and  even  he  came  in,  acknowledged  his 
crimes,  obtained  a  pardon,  and  paid  tribute.  The  effect  of  this 
submission  on  the  part  of  Waaljy,  was  to  establish  Ooroony 
more  strongly  than  ever  in  authority,  and  to  give  him  a  chance 
of  reigning  peacefully  for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  All  this 
was  done  in  less  than  a  week  after  the  war  had  begun  in  earnest, 
by  the  invasion  of  the  reef ! 

The  governor  was  too  desirous  to  relieve  the  anxiety  of  those 
he  had  left  behind  him,  to  accept  the  invitations  that  he  and 
his  party  now  received  to  make  merry.  He  traded  a  little 
with  Ooroony's  people,  obtaining  many  things  that  were  useful 
in  exchange  for  old  iron,  and  other  articles  of  little  or  no  value. 
What  was  more,  he  ascertained  that  sandal-wood  was  to  be 
found  on  Rancocus  Island  in  small  quantities,  and  in  this  group 
in  abundance.  A  contract  was  made,  accordingly,  for  the  cut- 
ting and  preparing  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  wood, 
which   was   to  be    ready  for  delivery  in  the  course  of  three 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  307 

months,  when  it  was  understood  that  the  schooner  was  to  re- 
turn and  take  it  in.  These  arrangements  completed,  the  Friend 
Abraham  White  sailed  for  home.     . 

Instead  of  entangling  himself  in  the  channels  to  leeward, 
Mark  made  the  land  well  to  the  northward,  entering  the  group 
by  a  passage  that  led  him  quite  down  to  the  reef,  as  the  origi- 
nal island  was  now  uniformly  called,  with  a  flowing  sheet.  Of 
course  the  schooner  was  seen  an  hour  before  she  arrived,  and 
everybody  was  out  on  the  reef  to  greet  the  adventurers.  Fears 
mingled  with  the  other  manifestations  of  joy,  when  the  result 
of  this  great  enterprise  came  to  be  known.  Mark  had  a  deli- 
cious moment  when  he  folded  the  sobbing  Bridget  to  his  heart, 
and  Friend  Martha  was  overcome  in  a  way  that  it  was  not  usual 
for  her  to  betray  feminine  weakness. 

Everybody  exulted  in  the  success  of  the  colony,  and  it  was 
hoped  that  the  future  would  be  as  quiet  as  it  was  secure. 

But  recent  events  began  to  give  the  governor  trouble,  on 
other  accounts.  The  accession  to  his  numbers,  as  well  as  the 
fact  that  these  men  were  seamen,  and  had  belonged  to  the  Ran- 
cocus,  set  him  thinking  on  the  subject  of  his  duty  to  the  own- 
ers of  that  vessel.  So  loug  as  he  supposed  himself  to  be  a 
cast-away,  he  had  made  use  of  their  property  without  compunc- 
tion, but  circumstances  were  now  changed,  and  he  felt  it  to  be 
a  duty  seriously  to  reflect  on  the  possibility  of  doing  something 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  had,  undesignedly  it  is  true,  con- 
tributed so  much  to  his  own  comfort.  In  order  to  give  this 
important  subject  a  due  consideration,  as  well  as  to  relieve  the 
minds  of  those  at  the  peak,  the  Abraham  sailed  for  the  cove 
the  morning  after  her  arrival  at  the  reef.  Bridget  went  across 
to  pay  Anne  a  visit,  and  most  of  the  men  were  of  the  party. 
The  Neshamony  had  carried  over  the  intelligence  of  Waally'a 
repulse,  and  of  the  Abraham's  having  gone  to  that  chief's 
island,  but  the  result  of  this  last  expedition  remained  to  be 
communicated. 

The  run  was  made  in  six  hours,  and  the  Abraham  was  taken 
into  the  cove,  and  anchored  there,  just  as  easily  as  one  of  the 


308  the    crater: 

smaller  craft.  There  was  water  enough  for  any  thing  that 
floated,  the  principal  want  being  that  of  room,  though  there 
was  enough  even  of  ro<  in  to  receive  a  dozen  vessels  of  size. 
The  place,  indeed,  was  a  snug,  natural  basin,  rather  than  a 
port,  but  art  could  not  have  made  it  safer,  or  even  much  more 
commodious.  It  was  all  so  small  an  island  could  ever  require 
in  the  way  of  a  haven,  it  not  being  probable  that  the  trade  of 
the  place  would  reach  an  amount  that  the  shipping  it  could  hold 
would  not  carry. 

The  governor  now  summoned  a  general  council  of  the  colony. 
The  Beven  seamen  attended,  aa  well  as  all  the  others,  one  or 
t\\<>  at  the  crater  excepted,  and  the  business  in  hand  was  en- 
tered on  soberly,  and,  in  some  respects,  solemnly.  In  the  first 
place,  the  constitution  and  intentions  of  the  colonists  were  laid 
before  tin'  Beven  men,  and  they  were  asked  as  to  their  wishes 
for  the  future.  Four  of  these  men,  including  Brown,  at  once 
signed  the  constitution,  and  were  sworn  in  as  citizens.  It  was 
their  wish  to  pass  their  days  in  that  delicious  climate,,  and  amid 
the  abundance  of  those  rich  and  pleasing  islands.  The  other 
three  engaged  with  Mark  for  a  time,  but  expressed  a  desire  to 
return  to  America  after  awhile.  Wives  were  wanting ;  and 
this  the  governor  saw,  plainly  enough,  was  a  difficulty  that 
must  be  got  over,  to  keep  the  settlement  contented.  Not  that 
a  wife  may  not  make  a  man's  home  very  miserable,  as  well  as 
very  happy  ;  but  most  people  prefer  trying  the  experiment 
for  themselves,  instead  of  profiting  by  the  experience  of  others. 

As  soon  as  the  question  of  citizenship  was  decided,  and  all 
the  engagements  were  duly  made,  the  governor  laid  his  ques- 
tion of  conscience  before  the  general  council.  For  a  long  time 
it  had  been  supposed  that  the  Rancocus  could  not  be  moved. 
The  eruption  had  left  her  in  a  basin,  or  hole,  where  there  was 
just  water  enough  to  float  her,  while  twelve  feet  was  the  most 
that  could  be  found  on  the  side  on  which  the  channel  was 
deepest.  Now,  thirteen  feet  aft  was  the  draught  of  the  ship 
when  she  was  launched.  This  Bob  well  knew,  having  been 
launched  in  her.      But  Brown  had  suggested  the  possibility  of 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  309 

lifting  the  vessel  eighteen  inches  or  two  feet,  and  of  thus  carry- 
ing her  over  the  rock  by  which  she  was  imprisoned.  Once 
liberated  from  that  place,  every  one  knew  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  getting  the  ship  to  sea,  since  in  one  of  the  chan- 
nels, that  which  led  to  the  northward,  a  vessel  might  actually 
carry  out  fully  five  fathoms,  or  quite  thirty  feet.  This  channel 
had  been  accurately  sounded  by  the  governor  himself,  and  of 
the  fact  he  was  well  assured.  Indeed,  he  had  sounded  most 
of  the  true  channels  around  the  reef.  By  true  channels  is 
meant  those  passages  that  led  from  the  open  water  quite  up  to 
the  crater,  or  which  admitted  the  passage  of  vessels,  or  boats ; 
while  the  false  were  culs  de  sac,  through  which  there  were  no 
real  passages. 

The  possibility  thus  admitted  of  taking  the  Rancocus  to 
sea,  a  grave  question  of  conscience  arose.  The  property  be- 
longed to  certain  owners  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  it  not  a  duty 
to  take  it  there  ?  It  is  true,  Friend  Abraham  White  and  his 
partners  had  received  back  their  money  from  the  insurers — this 
fact  Bridget  remembered  to  have  heard  before  she  left  home  ; 
but  those  insurers,  then,  had  their  claims.  Now,  the  vessel 
was  still  sound  and  seaworthy.  Her  upper  works  might  re- 
quire-caulking,  and  her  rigging  could  not  be  of  the  soundest ; 
but,  on  the  whole,  the  Rancocus  was  still  a  very  valuable  ship, 
and  a  voyage  might  be  made  for  her  yet.  The  governor 
thought  that  could  she  fjet  her  lower  hold  filled  with  sandal- 
wood,  and  that  wood  be  converted  into  teas  at  Canton,  as 
much  would  be  made  as  would  render  every  one  contented 
with  the  result  of  the  close  of  the  voyage,  disastrous  as  had 
been  its  commencement.  Then  Bridget  would  be  of  age 
shortly,  when  she  would  become  entitled  to  an  amount  of 
property  that,  properly  invested,  would  contribute  largely  to 
the  wraith  and  power  of  the  colony,  as  well  as  to  those  of  its 
governor. 

In  musing  on  all  these  plans,  Mark  had  not  the  least  idea  of 
abandoning  the  scheme  for  colonizing.  That  was  dearer  to 
him   now  than  ever ;  nevertheh  ss,   he  saw   obstacles  to   their 


310  the    c-rater: 

execution.  No  one  could  navigate  the  ship  but  himself;  in 
truth,  he  was  the  only  proper  person  to  carry  her  home,  and 
to  deliver  her  to  her  owners,  whomsoever  those  might  now  he, 
and  he  could  not  conceal  from  himself  the  propriety,  as  well  as 
the  necessity,  of  his  going  in  her  himself.  On  the  other  hand, 
what  might  not  be  the  consequences  to  the  colony,  of  his  ab- 
sence for  twelve  months  ?  A  less  time  than  that  would  not 
suffice  to  do  all  that  was  required  to  be  done.  Could  he  take 
Bridget  with  him,  or  could  he  bear  to  leave  her  behind  ?  Her 
presence  might  be  necessary  for  the  disposal  of  the  real  estate 
of  which  she  was  the  mistress,  while  her  quitting  the  colony 
might  be  the  signal  for  breaking  it  up  altogether,  under  the  im- 
pression that  the  two  persons  most  interested  in  it  would  never 
return. 

Thus  did  the  management  of  this  whole  matter  become  ex- 
ceedingly delicate.  Heatoo  and  Betts,  and,  in  the  end,  all  the 
rest,  were  of  opinion  that  the  Rancocus  ought  to  be  sent 
back  to  America,  for  the  benefit  of  those  to  whom  she  now  le- 
gally belonged.  Could  she  get  a  cargo,  or  any  considerable 
amount  of  sandal-wood,  and  exchange  it  for  teas  in  Canton,  the 
proceeds  of  these  teas  might  make  a  very  sufficient  return  for 
all  the  outlays  of  the  voyage,  as  well  as  for  that  portion  of  the 
property  which  had  been  used  by  the  colonists.  The  use  of 
this  property  was  a  very  different  thing,  now,  from  what  it  was 
when  Mark  and  Betts  had  every  reason  to  consider  themselves 
as  merely  shipwrecked  seamen.  Then,  it  was  not  only  a  matter 
of  necessity,  but,  through  that  necessity,  one  of  right ;  but 
now,  the  most  that  could  be  said  about  it,  was  that  it  might  bo 
very  convenient.  The  principles  of  the  colonists  were  yet  too 
good  to  allow  of  their  deceiving  themselves  on  this  subject. 
They  had,  most  of  them,  engaged  with  the  owners  to  take  care 
of  this  property,  and  it  might  be  questioned  if  such  a  wreck 
had  ever  occurred  as  to  discharge  the  crew.  The  rule  in  such 
cases  we  believe  to  be,  that,  as  seamen  have  a  lien  on  the  vessel 
for  their  wages,  when  that  lien  ceases  to  be  of  value,  their  obli- 
gations to  the  ship  terminate.     If  the  Rancocus  could  be  car- 


OR,     VULCAN    8      PEAK.  311 

ried  to  America,  no  one  belonging  to  her  was  yet  legally  exon 
erated  from  his  duties. 

After  weighing  all  these  points,  it  was  gravely  and  solemnly 
declared  that  an  effort  should  first  be  made  to  get  the  ship  out 
of  her  present  duress,  and  that  the  question  of  future  proceed- 
ings should  then  be  settled  in  another  council.  In  the  mean- 
time, further  and  more  valuable  presents  were  to  be  sent  to  both 
Ooroony  and  Waally,  from  the  stores  of  beads,  knives,  axes,  etc., 
that  were  in  the  ship,  with  injunctions  to  them  to  get  as  much 
sandal-wood  as  was  possible  cut,  and  to  have  it  brought  down 
to  the  coast.  Betts  was  to  carry  the  presents,  in  the  Neshamo- 
ny,  accompanied  by  Jones,  who  spoke  the  language,  when  he 
was  to  return  and  aid  in  the  work  upon  the  vessel. 

The  duty  enjoined  in  these  decisions  was  commenced  without 
delay.  Heaton  and  Unus  were  left  at  the  peak,  as  usual,  to 
look  after  things  in  that  quarter,  and  to  keep  the  mill  from  be- 
ing idle,  while  all  the  rest  of  the  men  returned  to  the  reef,  and 
set  about  the  work  on  the  ship.  The  first  step  taken  was  to 
send  down  all  the  spars  and  rigging  that  remained  aloft;  .after 
which  every  thing  was  got  up  out  of  the  hold,  and  rolled,  or 
dragged  ashore.  Of  cargo,  strictly  speaking,  the  Rancocus  had 
very  little  in  weight,  but  she  had  a  great  many  water-casks — 
four  or  five  times  as  many  as  would  have  been  put  into  her  in 
an  ordinary  voyage.  These  casks  had  all  been  filled  with  fresh 
water,  to  answer  the  double  purpose  of  a  supply  for  the  people, 
and  as  ballast  for  the  ship.  When  these  casks  were  all  got  on 
deck,  and  the  water  was  started,  it  was  found  that  the  vessel 
floated  several  inches  lighter  than  before.  The  sending  ashore 
of  the  spars,  sails,  rigging,  lumber,  provisions,  etc.,  produced  a 
still  further  effect,  and,  after  carefully  comparing  the  sounding, 
ami  the  present  draught  of  the  vessel,  the  governor  found  it 
would  be  necessary  to  lift  the  last  only  eight  inches,  to  get  her 
out  of  her  natural  dock.  This  result  greatly  encouraged  the 
laborers,  who  proceeded  with  renewed  spirit.  As  it  would  be 
altogether  useless  to  overhaul  the  rigging,  caulk,  decks,  etc., 
unless  the  ship  could  be  got  out  of  her  berth,  everybody  worked 


312  the    crater: 

with  that  end  in  view  at  first.  In  the  course  of  a  week,  the 
water-casks  were  under  her  bottom,  and  it  was  thought  that 
the  vessel  would  have  about  an  inch  to  spare.  A  gale  having 
blown  in  the  water,  and  a  high  tide  coming  at  the  same  time, 
the  governor  determined  to  try  the  experiment  of  crossing  the 
barrier.  The  order  came  upon  the  men  suddenly,  for  no  one 
thought  the  attempt  would  be  made  until  the  ship  was  lifted 
an  inch  or  two  higher.  But  Mark  saw  what  the  wind  had  been 
doing  for  them,  and  he  lost  not  a  moment.  The  vessel  was 
moved,  brought  head  to  her  course,  and  the  lines  were  hauled 
upon.  Away  went  the  Rancocus,  which  was  now  moved  for 
the  first  time  since  the  eruption  ! 

Just  as  the  governor  fancied  that  the  ship  was  going  clear, 
she  struck  aft.  On  examination,  it  was  found  that  her  heel  was 
on  a  knoll  of  the  rock,  and  that,  had  she  been  a  fathom  on 
cither  side  of  it,  she  would  have  gone  clear.  The  hold,  how- 
ever, was  very  slight,  and  by  getting  two  of  the  anchors  to  the 
cat-heads,  the  vessel  was  canted  sufficiently  to  admit  of  her 
passing.  Then  came  cheers  for  success,  and  the  cry  of  "  walk 
away  with  her!"  That  same  day  the  Rancocus  was  hauled 
alongside  of  the  reef,  made  fast,  and  secured  just  as  she  would 
have  been  at  her  own  wharf,  in  Philadelphia 

Now  the  caulkers  began  their  part  <>t  the  job.  When  caulked 
and  scraped,  she  was  painted,  her  rigging  was  overhauled  and 
got  into  its  places,  tic  masts  an  1  yards  were  sent  aloft,  and  all 
the  sails  were  overhauled.  A  tier  of  casks,  filled  with  fresh 
water,  was  put  into  her  lower  hold  for  ballast,  and  all  the  stores 
necessary  for  the  voyage  were  sent  on  board  her.  Among 
other  things  overhauled  were  the  provisions.  Most  of  the  beef 
and  pork  was  condemned,  and  no  small  part  of  the  bread ;  still, 
enough  remained  to  take  the  ship's  company  to  a  civilized  port. 
So  reluctant  was  the  governor  to  come  to  the  decision  concern- 
ing the  crew,  that  he  even  bent  sails  before  a  council  was  again 
convened.  But  there  was  no  longer  any  good  excuse  for  delay. 
Betts  had  long  been  back,  and  brought  the  report  that  the 
sandal-wood  was  being  hauled  to  the  coast  in  great  quantities, 


or,     vul'can's    peak.  313 

both  factions  working  with  right  good  will.  In  another  month 
the  ship  might  be  loaded  and  sail  for  America. 

To  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  Bridget  appeared  in  the 
council,  and  announced  her  determination  to  remain  behind, 
while  her  husband  carried  the  ship  to  her  owners.  She  saw 
and  felt  the  nature  of  his  duty,  and  could  consent  to  his  per- 
forming it  to  the  letter.  Mark  was  quite  taken  by  surprise  by 
this  heroic  and  conscientious  act  in  his  young  wife,  and  he  had 
a  great  struggle  with  himself  on  the  subject  of  leaving  her  be- 
hind him.  Heaton,  however,  was  so  very  prudent,  and  the 
present  relations  with  their  neighbors — neighbors  four  hundred 
miles  distant — were  so  amicable,  the  whole  matter  was  so  se- 
rious, and  the  duty  so  obvious,  that  he  finally  acquiesced,  with- 
out suffering  his  doubts  to  be  seen. 

The  next  thing  was  to  select  a  crew.  The  three  men  who 
had  declined  becoming  citizens  of  the  colony — Johnson,  Ed- 
wards, and  Bright,  all  able  seamen — went  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Betts  would  have  to  go  in  the  character  of  mate,  though  Bige- 
low  might  have  got  along  in  that  capacity.  Betts  knew  nothing 
of  navigation,  while  Bigelow  might  find  his  way  into  port  on  a 
pinch.  On  the  other  hand,  Betts  was  a  prime  seaman — a  per- 
fect long-cue,  in  fact — whereas  the  most  that  could  be  said  of 
Bigelow  in  this  respect,  was  that  he  was  a  stout,  willing  fellow, 
and  was  much  better  than  a  raw  hand.  The  governor  named 
Betts  as  his  first,  and  Bigelow  as  his  second  officer.  Brown 
remained  behind,  having  charge  of  the  navy  in  the  governor's 
absence.  He  had  a  private  interview  with  Mark,  however,  in 
which  he  earnestly  requested  that  the  governor  would  have  the 
goodness  "to  pick'out  for  him  the  sort  of  gal  that  he  thought 
would  make  a  fellow  a  good  and  virtuous  wife,  and  bring  her 
out  with  him,  in  whatever  way  he  might  return."  Mark  made 
as  fair  promises  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  would  allow, 
and  Brown  was  satisfied. 

It  was  thought  prudent  to  have  eight  white  men  on  board  the 
ship,  Mark  intending  to  borrow  as  many  more  of  Ooroony's 
people,  to  help  pull  and  haul.  With  such  a  craw,  he  thought 
14 


314  the    crater: 

he  might  get  along  very  well.  Wattles  chose  to  remain  with 
his  friend  Brown ;  but  Dickinson  and  Harris,  though  ready  and 
willing  to  return,  wished  to  sail  in  the  ship.  Like  Brown,  they 
wanted  wives,  but  chose  to  select  them  for  themselves.  On  this 
subject  Wattles  said  nothing.  We  may  add  here  that  Unus 
and  Juno  were  united  before  the  ship  sailed.  They  took  up 
land  on  the  peak,  where  Unus  erected  for  himself  a  very  neat 
cabin.  Bridget  Bet  the  young  couple  up,  giving  the  furniture,  a 
pig,  some  fowls,  and  other  accessaries. 

At  length  the  day  for  sailing  arrived.  Previously  to  depart- 
ing, Mark  had  carried  the  ship  through  the  channel,  and  she 
was  anchored  in  a  wry  good  and  safe  roadstead,  outside  of 
even  thing.  The  Leave-taking  took  place  on  board  her.  Bridget 
wept  long  in  her  husband's  arms,  but  finally  got  so  far  the  com- 
mand of  herself,  as  to  assume  an  air  of  encouraging  firmness 
among  the  other  women.  By  this  time,  it  was  every  way  so 
obvious  Mark's  presence  would  be  indispensable  in  America, 
that  his  absence  was  regarded  as  a  necessity  beyond  control. 
Still,  it  was  hard  to  part  for  a  year,  nor  was  the  last  embrace 
entirely  free  from  anguish.  Friend  Martha  Betts  took  leave  of 
Friend  Robert  with  a  great  appearance  of  calmness,  though  she 
felt  the  separation  keenly.  A  quiet,  warm-hearted  woman,  she 
had  made  her  husband  very  happy ;  and  Bob  was  quite  sensi- 
ble of  her  worth.  But  to  him  the  sea  was  a  home,  and  he  re- 
garded a  voyage  round  the  world  much  as  a  countryman  would 
look  upon  a  trip  to  market.  He  saw  his  wife  always  in  the 
vista  created  by  his  imagination,  but  she  was  at  the  end  of  the 
voyage. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  the  Rancocus  sailed,  Brown  and 
Wattles  going  down  with  her  in  the  Neshamony  as  far  as 
Betto's  group,  in  order  to  bring  back  the  latest  intelligence  of 
her  proceedings.  The  governor  now  got  Ooroony  to  assemble 
his  priests  and  chiefs,  and  to  pronounce  a  taboo  on  all  inter- 
course with  the  whites  for  one  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
he  promised  to  return,  and  to  bring  with  him  presents  that 
should   render  'every  one   glad  to  welcome   him    back.     Even 


oh,    vulcan's    peak.  315 

Waally  was  included  in  these  arrangements ;  and  when  Mark 
finally  sailed,  it  was  with  a  strong  hope  that  in  virtue  of  the 
taboo,  of  Ooroony's  power,  and  of  his  rival's  sagacity,  he  might 
rely  on  the  colony's  meeting  with  no  molestation  during  his 
absence.  The  reader  will  see  that  the  peak  and  reef  would  be 
in  a  very  defenceless  condition,  were  it  not  for  the  schooner. 
By  means  of  that  vessel,  under  the  management  of  Brown,  as-  . 
sisted  by  Wattles,  Socrates,  and  Unus,  it  is  true,  a  fleet  of 
canoes  might  be  beaten  off;  but  any  accident  to  the  Abraham 
would  be  very  likely  to  prove  fatal  to  the  colony,  in  the  event 
of  an  invasion.  Instructions  were  given  to  Heaton  to  keep  the 
schooner  moving  about,  and  particularly  to  make  a  trip  as  often 
as  once  in  two  incnths  to  Ooroony's  country,  in  order  to  look 
after  the  state  of  things  there.  The  pretence  was  to  be  trade — 
beads,  hatchets,  and  old  iron  being  taken  each  time,  in  ex- 
change for  sandal-wood ;  but  the  principal  object  was  to  keep 
an  eye  on  the  movements,  and  to  get  an  insight  into  the  policy 
of  the  savages. 

After  taking  in  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  sandal-wood, 
and  procuring  eight  active  assistants  from  Ooroony,  the  Rancocus 
got  under  way  for  Canton.  By  the  Neshamony,'  which  saw 
her  into  the  offing,  letters  were  sent  back  to  the  reef,  when  the 
governor  squared  away  for  his  port.  At  the  end  of  fifty  days, 
the  ship  reached  Canton,  where  a  speedy  and  excellent  sale  was 
made  of  her  cargo.  So  very  lucrative  did  Mark  make  this 
transaction,  that,  finding  himself  with  the  assets  after  filling  up 
with  teas,  he  thought  himself  justified  in  changing  his  course 
of  proceeding.  A  small  American  brig,  which  was  not  deemed 
fit  to  double  the  capes,  and  to  come  on  a  stormy  coast,  was  on 
sali.  She  could  run  several  years  in  a  sea  as  mild  as  the  Pa- 
cific, and  Mark  purchased  her  for  a  song.  He  put  as  many  use* 
fill  things  on  board  her  as  as  he  could  find,  including  several 
cows,  etc.  Dry  English  cows  were  not  difficult  to  find,  the 
ships  from  Europe  often  bringing  out  the  animals,  and  turning 
them  off  when  useless.  Mark  was  enabled  to  purchase  six, 
which,  rightly  enough,  he  thought  would  prove  a  great  acquisi- 


316  the    crater: 

tion  to  the  colony.  A  plentiful  supply  of  iron  was  also  provid- 
ed, as  were  ammunition,  arms,  and  guns.  The  whole  outlay, 
including  the  cost  of  the  vessel,  was  less  than  seven  thousand 
dollars  ;  which  sum  Mark  knew  he  should  receive  in  Philadel- 
phia, on  account  of  the  personal  property  of  Bridget,  and  with 
which  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  replace  the  proceeds  of  the 
sandal-wood,  thus  used,  did  those  interested  exact  it.  As  for 
the  vessel,  she  sailed  like  a  witch,  was  coppered  and  copper- 
fastened,  but  was  both  old  and  weak.  She  had  quarters,  hav- 
ing been  used  once  as  a  privateer,  and  mounted  ten  sixes.  Her 
burden  was  two  hundred  tons,  and  her  name  the  Mermaid. 
The  papers  were  all  American,  and  in  perfect  rule. 

The  governor  might  not  have  made  this  purchase,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  circumstance  that  he  met  an  old  acquaintance  in 
Canton,  who  had  got  married  in  Calcutta  to  a  pretty  and  very 
well-mannered  English  girl — a  step  that  lost  him  his  berth, 
however,  on  board  a  Philadelphia  ship.  Saunders  was  two  or 
three  years  Mark's  senior,  and  of  an  excellent  disposition  and 
character.  When  he  heard  the  history  of  the  colony,  he  pro- 
fessed a  desire  to  join  it,  engaging  to  pick  up  a  crew  of  Amer- 
icans, who  were  in  his  own  situation,  or  had  no  work  on  their 
hands,  and  to  take  the  brig  to  the  reef.  This  arrangement  was 
made  and  carried  out ;  the  Mermaid  sailing  for  the  crater  the 
day  before  the  Rancocus  left  for  Philadelphia,  having  Bigelow 
on  board  as  pilot  and  first  officer,  while  Woolston  shipped  an 
officer  to  supply  his  place.  The  two  vessels  met  in  the  China 
seas,  and  passed  a  week  in  company,  when  each  steered  her 
course  ;  the  governor  quite  happy  in  thinking  that  he  had  made 
this  provision  for  the  good  of  his  people.  The  arrival  of  the 
Mermaid  would  be  an  eventful  day  in  the  colony,  on  every  ac- 
count ;  and,  the  instructions  of  Saunders  forbidding  his  quitting 
the  islands  until  the  end  of  the  year,  her  presence  would  be  a 
great  additional  means  of  security. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  dwell  on  the  passage  of  the  Ran- 
cocus. In  due  time  she  entered  the  capes  of  the  Delaware, 
surprising  all  interested  with  her  appearance.     Friend  Abraham 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  317 

White  was  dead,  and  the  firm  dissolved;  but  the  property 
had  all  been  transferred  to  the  insurers  by  the  payment  of  the 
amount  underwritten,  and  Mark  made  his  report  at  the  office. 
The  teas  were  sold  to  great  advantage,  and  the  whole  matter 
•was  taken  fairly  into  consideration.  After  deducting  the  sum 
paid  the  firm,  principal  and  interest,  the  insurance  company 
resolved  to  give  the  ship,  and  the  balance  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  sale,  to  Captain  Woolston,  as  a  reward  for  his  integrity 
and  prudence.  Mark  had  concealed  nothing,  but  stated  what 
he  had  done  in  reference  to  the  Mermaid,  and  told  his  whole 
story  with  great  simplicity,  and  with  perfect  truth.  The  result 
was  that  the  young  man  got,  in  addition  to  the  ship,  which  was 
legally  conveyed  to  him,  some  eleven  thousand  dollars  in  hard 
money.     Thus  was  honesty  shown  to  be  the  best  policy  ! 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  his  success  made  Mark 
Woolston  a  great  man,  in  a  small  way.  Not  only  was  he  re- 
ceived with  open  arms  by  all  of  his  own  blood,  but  Doctor 
Yardley  now  relented,  and  took  him  by  the  hand.  A  faithful 
account  was  rendered  of  his  stewardship  ;  and  Mark  received 
as  much  ready  money,  on  account  of  his  wife,  as  placed  some- 
what more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars  at  his  disposal.  With 
this  money  he  set  to  work,  without  losing  a  day,  to  make  ar- 
rangements to  return  to  Bridget  and  the  crater  ;  for  he  always 
deemed  that  his  proper  abode,  in  preference  to  the  peak.  In 
this  feeling,  his  charming  wife  coincided  ;  both  probably  en- 
couraging a  secret  interest  in  the  former,  in  consequence  of  the 
solitary  hours  that  had  been  p'assed  there  by  the  young  hus- 
band, while  his  anxious  partner  was  far  away. 


318  the  crater: 


CHAPTER  XX. 

u  There  is  no  gloom  on  earth,  for  God  above 
Chastens  in  love ; 
Transmuting  sorrows  into  golden  joy 

Free  from  alloy. 
His  dearest  attribute  is  still  to  bless, 
And  man's  most  welcome  hymn  is  grateful  cheerfulness." 

Moral  Alchemt. 

The  mode  of  proceeding  now  required  great  caution  on  the 
part  of  Murk  Woolston.  His  mind  was  fully  made  up  not  to 
desert  his  islands,  although  this  might  easily  be  done,  by  fitting 
out  the  ship  for  another  voyage,  filling  her  with  sandal-wood, 
and  bringing  off  all  who  chose  to  abandon  the  place.  But 
Woolston  had  become  infatuated  with  the  climate,  which  had 
all  the  witchery  of  a  low  latitude  without  any  of  its  lassitude. 
The  sea-breezes  kept  the  frame  invigorated,  and  the  air  reason- 
ably cool,  even  at  the  reef;  while  on  the  peak,  there  was 
scarcely  ever  a  day,  in  the  warmest  months,  when  One  could 
not  labor  at  noon.  In  this  respect  the  climate  did  not  vary 
essentially  from  that  of  Pennsylvania,  the  difference  existing  in 
the  fact  that  there  was  no  winter  in  his  new  country.  Nothing 
takes  such  a  hold  on  men  as  a  delicious  climate.  They  may 
not  be  sensible  of  all  its  excellencies  while  in  its  enjoyment, 
but  the  want  of  it  is  immediately  felt,  and  has  an  influence  on 
all  their  pleasures.  Even  the  scenery-hunter  submits  to  this 
witchery  of  climate,  which  casts  a  charm  over  the  secondary 
beauties  of  nature,  as  a  sweet  and  placid  temper  renders  the 
face  of  woman  more  lovely  than  the  color  of  a  skin,  or  the 
brilliancy  of  fine  eyes.  The  Alps  and  the  Apennines  furnish  a 
standing  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  fact.     As  respects  grandeur, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  319 

a  startling  magnificence,  and  all  that  at  first  takes  the  reason, 
as  well  as  the  tastes,  by  surprise,  the  first  are  vastly  in  advance 
of  the  last ;  yet,  no  man  of  feeling  or  sentiment  probably  ever 
dwelt  a  twelvemonth  amid  each,  without  becoming  more  at- 
tached to  the  last.  We  wonder  at  Switzerland,  while  we  get 
to  love  Italy.  The  difference  is  entirely  owing  to  climate  ;  for, 
did  the  Alps  rise  in  a  lower  latitude,  they  would  be  absolutely 
peerless. 

But  Mark  Woolston  had  no  thought  of  abandoning  the  cra- 
ter and  the  peak.  Nor  did  he  desire  to  people  them  at 
random,  creating  a  population  by  any  means,  incorporating 
moral  diseases  in  his  body  politic  by  the  measures  taken  to 
bring  it  into  existence.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  his  wish, 
rather,  to  procure  just  as  much  force  as  might  be  necessary  to 
security,  so  divided  in  pursuits  and  qualities  as  to  conduce  to 
comfort  and  civilization,  and  then  to  trust  to  the  natural  in- 
crease for  the  growth  that  might  be  desirable  in  the 'end.  Such 
a  policy  evidently  required  caution  and  prudence.  The  reader 
will  perceive  that  Governor  Woolston  was  not  influenced  by  the 
spirit  of  trade  that  is  now  so  active,  preferring  happiness  to 
wealth,  and  morals  to  power. 

Among  Woolston' s  acquaintances,  there  was  a  young  man 
of  about  his  own  age,  of  the  name  of  Pennock,  who  struck 
him  as  a  person  admirably  suited  for  his  purposes.  This  Pen- 
nock had  married  very  young,  and  was  already  the  father  of 
three  children.  He  began  to  feel  the  pressure  of  society,  for  he 
was  poor.  He  was  an  excellent  farmer,  accustomed  to  toil, 
while  he  was  also  well  educated,  having  been  intended  for  one 
of  the  professions.  To  Pennock  Mark  told  his  story,  exhibited 
his  proofs,  and  laid  bare  his  whole  policy,  under  a  pledge  of 
secrecy,  offering  at  the  same  time  to  receive  his  friend,  his  wife, 
children,  and  two  unmarried  sisters,  into  the  colony.  After 
taking  time  to  reflect  and  to  consult,  Pennock  accepted  the 
offer  as  frankly  as  it  had  been  made.  From  this  time  John 
Pennock  relieved  the  governor,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the  duty 
of  selecting  the  remaining  emigrants,  taking  that  office  on  him- 


320  the    crater: 

self.  This  allowed  Mark  to  attend  to  his  purchases,  and  to 
getting  the  ship  ready  for  sea.  Two  of  his  own  brothers,  how- 
ever, expressed  a  wish  to  join  the  new  community,  and  Charles 
and  Abraham  Woolston  were  received  in  the  colony  lists. 
Half  a  dozen  more  were,  admitted  by  means  of  direct  applica- 
tion to  the  governor  himself,  though  the  accessions  were  princi- 
pally obtained  through  the  negotiations  and  measures  of  Pen- 
nock.  All  was  done  with  great  secrecy,  it  being  Mark's 
anxious  desire,  on  many  accounts,  not  to  attract  public  atten- 
tion to  his  colony. 

The  reasons  were  numerous  and  sufficient  for  this  wish  to 
/emain  unknown.  In  the  first  place,  the  policy  of  retaining 
the  monopoly  of  a  trade  that  must  be  enormously  profitable, 
was  too  obvious  to  need  any  arguments  to  support  it.  So  long 
as  the  sandal-wood  lasted,  so  long  would  it  be  in  the  power  of 
the  colonists  to  coin  money  ;  while  it  was  certain  that  compet- 
itors would  rush  in,  the  moment  the  existence  of  this  mine  of 
wealth  should  be  known.  Then,  the  governor  apprehended 
the  cupidity  and  ambition  of  the  old-established  governments, 
when  it  should  be  known  that  territory  was  to  be  acquired.  It 
was  scarcely  possible  for  man  to  possess  any  portion  of  this 
earth  by  a  title  better  than  that  with  which  Mark  Woolston 
was  invested  with  his  domains.  But  what  is  right  compared 
to  might?  Of  his  native  country,  so  abused  in  our  own  times 
for  its  rapacity,  and  the  desire  to  extend  its  dominions  by  any 
means,  Mark  felt  no  apprehension.  Of  all  the  powerful  nations 
of  the  present  day,  America,  though  not  absolutely  spotless, 
has  probably  the  least  to  reproach  herself  with,  on  the  score  of 
lawless  and  purely  ambitious  acquisitions.  Even  her  conquests 
in  open  war  have  been  few,  and  are  not  yet  determined  in 
character.  In  the  end,  it  will  be  found  that  little  will  be  taken 
that  Mexico  could  keep  ;  and  had  that  nation  observed  toward 
this,  ordinary  justice  and  faith,  in  her  intercourse  and  treaties, 
that  which  has  so  suddenly  and  vigorously  been  done,  would 
never  have  even  been  attempted. 

It  may  suit  the  policy  of  those  who  live  under  the  same  sys- 


<jr,    vulcan's    peak.  321 

tern,  to  decry  those  who  do  not ;  hut  men  are  not  so  blind  that 
they  cannot  see  the  sun  at  noonday.  One  nation  makes  war 
because  its  consul  receives  the  rap  of  a  fan  ;  and  men  of  a 
different  origin,  religion,  and  habits,  are  coerced  into  submis- 
sion as  the  consequence.  Another  nation  burns  towns,  and 
destroys  their  people  in  thousands,  because  their  governors  will 
not  consent  to  admit  a  poisonous  drug  into  their  territories  ;  an 
offence  against  the  laws  of  trade  that  can  only  be  expiated  by 
the  ruthless  march  of  the  conqueror.  Yet  the  ruling  men  of 
both  these  communities  affect  a  great  sensibility  when  the  long- 
slumbering  young  lion  of  the  west  rouses  himself  in  his  lair, 
after  twenty  years  of  forbearance,  and  stretches  out  a  paw  in 
resentment  for  outrages  that  no  other  nation,  conscious  of  his 
strength,  would  have  endured  for  as  many  months,  because, 
forsooth,  he  is  the  young  lion  of  the  west.  Never  mind :  by 
the  time  New  Zealand  and  Tahiti  are  brought  under  the  yoke, 
the  Californians  may  be  admitted  to  an  equal  participation  in 
the  rights  of  American  citizens. 

The  governor  was  fully  aware  of  the  danger  he  ran  of  having 
claims,  of  some  sort  or  other,  set  up  to  his  islands,  if  he  revealed 
their  existence ;  and  he  took  the  greatest  pains  to  conceal  the 
fact.  The  arrival  of  the  Rancocus  was  mentioned  in  the  pa- 
pers, as  a  matter  of  course  ;  but  it  was  in  a  way  to  induce  the 
reader  to  suppose  she  had  met  with  her  accident  in  the  midst 
of  a  naked  reef,  and  principally  through  the  loss  of  her  men ; 
and  that,  when  a  few  of  the  last  were  regained,  the  voyage  was 
successfully  resumed  and  terminated.  In  that  day,  the  great 
discovery  had  not  been  made  that  men  were  merely  incidents 
of  newspapers ;  but  the  world  had  the  folly  to  believe  that  news: 
papers  were  incidents  of  society,  and  were  subject  to  its  rules 
and  interests.  Some  respect  was  paid  to  private  rights,  and  the 
reign  of  gossip  had  not  commenced.* 

*  We  hold  in  our  possession  a  curious  document,  the  publication  of  which  might 
rebuke  this  spirit  of  gossip,  and  give  a  salutary  warning  to  certain  managers  of  the 
press,  who  no  sooner  hear  a  rumor  than  they  think  themselves  justified  in  embalming 
it  among  the  other  truths  of  their  daily  sheets.  The  occurrences  of  life  brought  us  in 
collision,  legally,  with  an  editor;  and  we  obtained  a  verdict  against  him.     Dissatisfied 

14* 


322  the    crater: 

In  the  last  century,  however,  matters  were  not  carried  quite 
so  far  as  they  are  at  present.  No  part  of  this  community, 
claiming  any  portion  of  respectability,  was  willing  to  publish 
its  own  sense  of  inferiority  so  openly,  as  to  gossip  about  its 
fellow-citizens,  for  no  more  direct  admissions  of  inferiority  can 
be  made  than  this  wish  to  comment  on  the  subject  of  any  one's 
private  concerns.  Consequently,  Mark  and  his  islands  escaped. 
There  was  no  necessity  for  his  telling  the  insurers  any  thing 
about  the  peak,  for  instance,  and  on  that  part  of  the  subject, 
therefore,  he  wisely  held  his  tongue.  Nothing,  in  short,  was 
said  of  any  colony  at  all.  The  manner  in  which  the  crew  had 
been  driven  away  to  leeward,  and  recovered,  was  told  minutely, 
and  the  whole  process  by  which  the  ship  was  saved.  The  prop- 
erty used,  Mark  said,  had  Keen  appropriated  to  his  wants,  with- 
out going  into  detail-,  and  the  main  results  being  so  very  satis- 
factory, the  insurers  asked  no  farther. 

As  soon  as  off  the  capes,  the  governor  set  about  a  serious 
investigation  of  the  state  of  his  affairs.  In  the  way  of  cargo, 
a  great  many  articles  had  been  laid  in,  which  experience  told 
him  would  be  useful.  He  took  with  him  such  farming  tools  as 
Friend  Abraham  White  had  not  thought  of  furnishing  to  the 
natives  of  Feejee,  and  a  few  seeds  that  had  been  overlooked  by 
that  speculating  philanthropist.  There  were  half  a  dozen  more 
cows  on  board,  as  well  as  an  improved  breed  of  hogs.  Mark 
carried  out,  also,  a  couple  of  mares,  for,  while  many  horses 
could  never  be  much  needed  in  his  islands,  a  few  would  alwyys 

with  defeat,  as  is  apt  to  be  the  case,  he  applied  for  a  new  trial.  Such  an  application 
was  to  be  sustained  by  affidavits,  and  he  made  his  own,  as  usual.  Now,  in  this  affida- 
vit, our  competitor  6wore,  distinctly  and  unequivocally,  to  certain  alleged  facts  (we 
think  to  the  number  of  six),  every  one  of  which  was  untrue.  Fortunately  for  tl>* 
party  implicated,  the  matter  sworn  to  was  purely  ad  captandum  stuff,  nnd,  in  a  legal 
sense,  not  pertinent  to  the  issue.  This  prevented  it  from  being  perjury  in  law.  Still, 
it  was  all  untrue,  and  nothing  was  easier  than  to  show  it.  Now,  we  do  not  doubt  that 
the  person  thus  swearing  believed  all  that  he  swore  to,  or  he  would  not  have  bad  the 
extreme  folly  to  expose  himself  as  he  did ;  but  he  was  so  much  in  the  habit  of  publish- 
ing gossip  in  his  journal,  that,  when  an  occasion  arrived,  he  did  not  hesitate  about 
swearing  to  what  he  had  read  in  other  journals,  without  taking  the  trouble  to  inquire 
if  it  were  true!  One  of,  these  days  we  may  lay  all  this,  along  with  much  other  similar 
proof  of  the  virtue  there  is  in  gossip,  so  plainly  before  the  world,  that  he  who  runs 
may  read. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  323 

be  exceedingly  useful.  Oxen  were  much  wanted,  but  one  of 
his  new  colonists  had  yoked  his  cows,  and  it  was  thought  they 
might  be  made  useful,  in  a  moderate  degree,  until  their  stouter 
substitutes  could  be  reared.  Carts  and  wagons  were  provided 
in  sufficient  numbers.  A  good  stock  of  iron  in  bars  was  laid 
in,  in  addition  to  that  which  was  wrought  into  nails,  and  other 
useful  articles.  Several  thousand  dollars  in  coin  were  also  pro- 
vided, being  principally  in  small  pieces,  including  copper.  But 
all  the  emigrants  took  more  or  less  specie  with  them. 

A  good  deal  of  useful  lumber  was  stowed  in  the  lower 
hold,  though  the  mill  by  this  time  furnished  a  pretty  good 
home  supply.  The  magazine  was  crammed  with  ammunition, 
and  the  governor  had  purchased  four  light  field-guns — two  three- 
pounders,  and  two  twelve-pound  howitzers — with  their  equip- 
ments. He  had  also  brought  six  long  iron  twelves,  ship-guns, 
with  their  carriages,  etc.  The  last  he  intended  for  his  batter- 
ies, the  carronades  being  too  light  for  steady  work,  and  throw- 
ing their  shot  too  wild  for  a  long  range.  The  last  could  be 
mounted  on  board  the  different  vessels.  The  Rancocus,  also, 
had  an  entire  new  armament,  having  left  all  her  old  guns  but 
two  behind  her.  Two  hundred  muskets  were  laid  in,  with  fifty 
brace  of  pistols.  In  a  word,  as  many  arms  were  provided  as  it 
was  thought  could,  in  any  emergency,  become  necessary. 

But  it  was  the  human  portion  of  his  cargo  that  the  governor, 
rightly  enough,  deemed  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance. 
Much  care  had  been  bestowed  on  the  selection,  which  had  given 
all  concerned  in  it  not  a  little  trouble.  Morals  were  the  first 
interest  attended  to.  No  one  was  received  but  those  who  bore 
perfecf  r  good  characters.  The  next  thing  was  to  make  a 
proper  livision  among  the  various  trades  and  pursuits  of  life. 
There  were  carpenters,  masons,  blacksmiths,  tailors,  shoemakers, 
etc.,  or  one  of  each,  and  sometimes  more.  Every  man  was 
married,  the  only  exceptions  being  in  the  cases  of  younger 
brothers  and  sisters,  of  whom  about  a  dozen  were  admitted 
along  with  their  relatives.  The  whole  of  the  ship's  betwixt- 
decks  was  fitted  up  for  the  reception  of  these  emigrants,  who 


324  the    crater: 

wore  two  hundred  and  seven  in  number,  besides  children.  Of 
the  last  there  were  more  than  fifty,  but  they  were  principally 
of  an  age  to  allow  of  their  being  put  into  holes  and  corners. 

Mark  Woolston  was  much  too  sensible  a  man  to  fall  into  any 
of  the  modern  absurdities  on  the  subject  of  equality  and  a 
community  of  interests.  One  or  two  individuals,  even  in  that 
day,  had  wished  to  accompany  him,  who  were  for  forming  an 
association  in  which  all  property  should  be  shared  in  common, 
and  in  which  nothing  was  to  be  done  but  that  which  was  right. 
Mark  had  not  the  least  objection  in  the  world  to  the  last 
proposition,  and  would  have  been  glad  enough  to  see  it  carried 
out  to  the  letter,  though  he  differed  essentially  with  the  appli- 
cants, as  to  the  mode  of  achieving  so  desirable  an  end.  lie  was 
of  opinion  that  civilization  could  not  exist  without  property,  or 
property  without  a  direct  personal  interest  in  both  its  accumu- 
lation and  its  preservation.  They,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
carried  away  by  the  crotchet  that  community  labor  was  better 
than  individual  labor,  and  that  a  hundred  men  would  be  hap- 
pier and  better  off  with  their  individualities  compressed  into 
one,  than  by  leaving  them  in  a  hundred  subdivisions,  as  they 
had  been  placed  by  nature.  The  theorists  might  have  been 
right,  had  it  been  in  their  power  to  compress  a  hundred  indi- 
viduals into  one,  but  it  was  not.  After  all  their  efforts,  they 
would  still  remain  a  hundred  individuals,  merely  banded  to- 
gether, under  more  restraints  and  with  less  liberty  than  are 
common. 

Of  all  sophisms,  that  is  the  broadest  which  supposes  personal 
liberty  is  extended  by  increasing  the  power  of  the  community. 
Individuality  is  annihilated  in  a  thousand  things,  by  the  com- 
munity-power that  already  exists  in  this  country,  where  perse- 
cution often  follows  from  a  man's  thinking  and  acting  different- 
ly from  his  neighbors,  though  the  law  professes  to  protect  him. 
The  reason  why  this  power  becomes  so  very  formidable,  and  is  i 
often  so  oppressively  tyrannical  in  its  exhibition,  is  very  obvious. 
In  countries  where  the  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  public 
sympathy  often  sustains  the  man  who  resists  its  injustice  ;  but 


OR,     VULCAX'S      PEAK.  325 

no  public  sympathy  can  sustain  him  who  is  oppressed  by  the 
public  itself.  This  oppression  does  not  often  exhibit  itself  in 
the  form  of  law,  but  rather  in  its  denial.  He  who  has  a  clamor 
raised  against  him  by  numbers,  appeals  in  vain  to  numbers  for 
justice,  though  his  claim  may  be  clear  as  the  sun  at  noon- 
day. The  divided  responsibility  of  bodies  of  men  prevents 
any  thing  like  the  control  of  conscience,  and  the  most  ruthless 
wrongs  are  committed,  equally  without  reflection  and  without 
remorse. 

Mark  Woolston  had  thought  too  much  on  the  subject,  to  be 
the  dupe  of  any  of  these  visionary  theories.  Instead  of  fancy- 
ing that  men  never  knew  any  thing  previously  to  the  last  ten 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  he  was  of  the  opinion  of  the 
wisest  man  who  ever  lived,  that  "  there  was  nothing  new  under 
the  sun."  That  "circumstances  might  alter  cases"  he  was 
willing  enough  to  allow,  nor  did  he  intend  to  govern  the  crater 
by  precisely  the  same  laws  as  he  would  govern  Pennsylvania, 
or  Japan ;  but  he  well  understood,  nevertheless,  that  certain 
great  moral  truths  existed  as  the  law  of  the  human  family,  and 
that  they  were  not  to  be  set  aside  by  visionaries  ;  and  least  of 
all,' with  impunity. 

Every  thing  connected  with  the  colony  was  strictly  practical. 
The  decision  of  certain  points  had  unquestionably  given  the 
governor  trouble,  though  he  got  along  with  them  pretty  we)/, 
on  the  whole.  A  couple  of  yount:  lawyers  had  desired  to  go, 
but  he  had  the  prudence  to  reject  them.  Law,  as  a  science,  is 
a  very  useful  study,  beyond  a  question ;  but  the  governor, 
rightly  enough,  fancied  that  his  people  could  do  without  so 
much  science  for  a  few  years  longer.  Then  another  doctor 
volunteered  his  services.  Mark  remembered  the  quarrels  be- 
tween  his  father  and  his  father-in-law,  and  thought  it  better  to 
die  under  one  theory  than  under  two.  As  regards  a  clergyman, 
Mark  had  greater  difficulty.  The  question  of  sect  was  not 
seriously  debated  half  a  century  ago  as  it  is  to-dav  ;  still  it  was 
debated.  Bristol  had  a  very  ancient  society,  of  the  persuasion  of 
the  Anglican  church,  and  Mark's  family  belonged  to  it,   Bridget, 


326  the    crater: 

however,  was  a  Presbyterian,  and  no  small  portion  of  the  new 
colonists  were  what  is  called  Wet-Quakers — that  is,  Friends 
who  are  not  very  particular  in  their  opinions  or  observances. 
Now,  religion  often  caused  more  feuds  than  any  thing  else  ; 
still  it  was  impossible  to  have  a  priest  for  every  persuasion,  and 
one  ought  to  suffice  for  the  whole  colony.  The  question  was, 
of  what  sect  should  that  one  clergyman  be?  So  many  prej- 
udices were  to  be  consulted,  that  the  governor  was  about  to 
abandon  the  project  in  despair,  when  accident  determined  the. 
point.  Among  Jleaton's  relatives  was  a  young  man  of  the 
name  of  Ilornblower — no  bad  appellation,  by  the  way,  for  one 
who  had  to  sound  so  many  notes  of  warning — who  had  received 
priest's  orders  from  the  hands  of  the  well-known  Doctor  White, 
bo  l"iig  the  presiding  bishop  <>f  America,  and  whose  constitu- 
tion imperiously  demanded  a  milder  climate  than  that  in  which 
he  then  lived.  As  respects  him,  it  became  a  question  purely 
of  humanity,  the  divine  being  too  poor  to  travel  on  his  own 
account,  and  he  was  received  on  board  the  Rancocus,  with  his 
wife,  his  sister,  and  two  children,  that  he  might  have  the  bene- 
fit of  living  within  the  tropics.  The  matter  was  fully  explained 
to  the  other  emigrants,  who  could  not  raise  objections  if  they 
would,  but  who  really  were  not  disposed  to  do  so  in  a  case  of 
such  obvious  motives.  A  good  portion  of  them,  probably, 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  Episcopalian  ministrations  were 
better  than  none,  though,  to  own  the  truth,  the  liturgy  gave  a 
good  deal  of  scandal  to  a  certain  portion  of  their  number. 
Reading  prayers  was  so  profane  a  thing,  that  these  individuals 
could  scarcely  consent  to  be  present  at  such  a  vain  ceremony  ; 
nor  was  the  discontent,'on  this  preliminary  point,  fully  disposed 
of  until  the  governor  once  asked  the  principal  objector  how  he 
got  along  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  was  not  only  written 
and  printed,  but  which  usually  was  committed  to. memory! 
Notwithstanding  this  difficulty,  the  emigrants  did  get  along 
with  it  without  many  qualms,  and  most  of  them  dropped  quietly 
into  the  habit  of  worshipping  agreeably  to  a  liturgy,  just  as  if 
it  were  not  the  terrible  profanity  that  some  of  them  had  imag- 


on,  vulcan's    peak.  327 

ined.      In  this  way,  many  of  our  most  intense  prejudices  get 
lost  in  new  communications. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  accompany  the  Rancocus,  day  by 
day,  in  her  route.  She  touched  at  Rio,  and  sailed  again  at  the 
end  of  eight-and-forty  hours.  The  passage  round  the  Horn 
was  favorable,  and  having  got  well  to  the  westward,  away  the 
ship  went  for  her  port.  One  of  the  cows  got  down,  and  died 
before  it  could  be  relieved,  in  a  gale  off  the  cape  ;  but  no  other 
accident  worth  mentioning  occurred.  A  child  died  with  con- 
vulsions, in  consequence  of  teething,  a  few  days  later ;  but  this 
did  not  diminish  the  number  on  board,  as  three  were  born  the 
same  week.  The  ship  had  now  been  at  sea  one  hundred  and 
sixty  days,  counting  the  time  passed  at  Rio,  and  a  general 
impatience  to  arrive  pervaded  the  vessel.  If  the  truth  must  be 
said,  some  of  tbe  emigrants  began  to  doubt  the  governor's 
ability  to  find  his  islands  again,  though  none  doubted  of  their 
existence.  The  Kannakas,  however,  declared  that  they  began 
to  smell  home,  and  it  is  odd  enough,  that  this  declaration, 
coming  as  it  did  from  ignorant  men,  who  made  it  merely  on  a 
fanciful  suggestion,  obtained  more  credit  with  most  of  the 
emigrants,  than  all  the  governor's  instruments  and  observations. 

One  day,  a  little  before  noon  it  was,  Mark  appeared  on  deck 
with  his  quadrant,  and  as  he  cleaned  the  glasses  of  the  instru- 
ment, he  announced  his  conviction  that  the  ship  would  shortly 
make  the  group  of  the  crater.  A  current  had  set  him  further 
north  than  he  intended  to  go,  but  having  hauled  up  to  south- 
west, he  waited  only  for  noon  to  ascertain  his  latitude,  to  be 
certain  of  his  position.  As  the  governor  maintained  a  proper 
distance  from  his  people,  and  was  not  in  the  habit  of  making 
unnecessary  communications  to  them,  his  present  frankness  told 
for  so  much  the  more,  and  it  produced  a  very  general  excite- 
ment in  the  ship.  All  eyes  were  on  the  look-out  for  land, 
greatly  increasing  the  chances  of  its  being  shortly  seen.  The 
observation  came  at  noon,  as  is  customary,  and  the  governor 
found  he  was  about  thirty  miles  to  the  northward  of  the  group 
of  islands  he  was  seeking.     By  his  calculation,  he  was  still  to 


328  the    crater: 

the  eastward  of  it,  and  he  hauled  up,  hoping  to  fall  in  with  the 
hind  well  to  windward.  After  standing  on  three  hours  in  the 
right  direction,  the  look-outs  from  the  cross-trees  declared  no 
land  was  visible  ahead.  For  one  moment  the  dreadful  appre- 
hension of  the  group's  having  sunk  under  another  convulsion 
of  nature  crossed  Mark's  mind,  but  he  entertained  that  notion 
for  a  minute  only.  Then  came  the  cry  of  "sail  ho!"  to  cheer 
everybody,  and  to  give  them  something  else  to  think  of. 

This  was  the  first  vessel  the  Rancocus  had  seen  since  she  left 
Rio.     It  was  to  windward,  and  appeared  to  be  standing  down" 
before  the  wind.     In  an  hour's  time  the  two  vessels  were  near 
enough  t<t  each  other  to  enable  the  ^lass  to  distinguish  objects; 

and  the-  quarter  deck,  on  board  the  Kan mis,  were  all  engaged 

in  looking  at  the  stranger. 

"'Tis  the  Mermaid,"  said  Mark  to  Brtts,  "and  it's  all  right. 
Though  what  that  craft  can  be  doing  here  to  windward  of  the 
islands,  is  more  than  I  can  imagine !" 

"Perhaps,  Bir,  they's  a  cruising  arter  us,"  answered  Bob. 
"This  is  about  the  time  they  ought  to  be  expectin'  on  us  ;  and 
who  knows  but  Madam  Woolston  and  Friend  Marthy  may  not 
have  taken  it  into  their  heads  to  come  out  a  bit,  to  see  arter 
their  lawful  husbands  ?" 

The  governor  smiled  at  this  conceit,  but  continued  his  obser- 
vations in  silence. 

"  She  behaves  very  strangely,  Betts,"  Mark  at  length  said. 
"  Just  take  a  look  at  her.  She  yaws  like  a  galliot  in  a  gale,  and 
takes  the  whole  road  like  a  drunken  man.  There  can  be  no  one 
at  the  helm." 

"And  how  lubberly,  sir,  her  canvas  is  set !  Just  look  at  that 
main-taw-sail,  sir;  one  of  the  sheets  isn't  home  by  a  fathom, 
while  the  yard  is  braced  in,  till  it's  almost  aback  !" 

The  governor  walked  the  deck  for  five  minutes  in  intense 
thought,  though  occasionally  he  stopped  to  look  at  the  brig, 
now  within  a  league  of  them.  Then  he  suddenly  called  to  Bob, 
to  "see  all  clear  for  action,  and  to  get  every  thing  ready  to  go 
to  quarters." 


OR,     VULCAN 


329 


This  order  set  every  one  in  motion.  The  women  and  chil- 
dren were  hurried  below,  and  the  men,  who  had  been  constantly- 
exercised,  now,  for  five  months,  took  their  stations  with  the 
regularity  of  old  seamen.  The  guns  were  cast  loose — ten 
eighteen-pound  carronades  and  two  nines,  the  new  armament — 
cartridges  were  got  ready,  shot  placed  at  hand,  and  all  the  usual 
dispositions  for  combat  were  made.  While  this  was  doing,  the 
two  vessels  were  fast  drawing  nearer  to  each  other,  and  were 
soon  within  gun-shot.  But  no  one  on  board  the  Rancocus 
knew  what  to  make  of  the  evolutions  of  the  Mermaid.  Most 
of  her  ordinary  square-sails  were  set,  though  not  one  of  them 
all  was  sheeted  home,  or  well  hoisted.  An  attempt  had  been 
made  to  lay  the  yards  square,  but  one  yard-arm  was  braced  in 
too  far,  another  not  far  enough,  and  nothing  like  order  appeared 
to  have  prevailed  at  the  sail-trimming.  But  the  conning  of  the 
brig  was  the  most  remarkable.  Her  general  course  would  seem 
to  be  dead  before  the  wind  ;  but  she  yawed  incessantly,  and 
often  so  broadly  as  to  catch  some  of  her  light  sails  aback.  Most 
vessels  take  a  good  deal  of  room  in  running  down  before  the 
wind,  and  in  a  swell ;  but  the  Mermaid  took  a  great  deal  more 
than  was  common,  and  could  scarce  be  said  to  look  any  way  in 
particular.  All  this  the  governor  observed,  as  the  vessels  ap- 
proached nearer  and  nearer,  as  well  as  the  movements  of  those 
of  the  crew  who  showed  themselves  in  the  rigging. 

"  Clear  away  a  bow-gun,"  cried  Mark  to  Betts  ;  "something 
dreadful  must  have  happened  ;  that  brig  is  in  possession  of  the 
Bavages,  who  do  not  know  how  to  handle  her  !" 

This  announcement  produced  a  stir  on  board  the  Rancocus, 
as  may  well  be  imagined.  If  the  savages  had  the  brig,  they 
probably  had  the  group  also  ;  and  what  had  become  of  the  col- 
onists ?  The  next  quarter  of  an  hour  was  one  of  the  deepest 
expectation  with  all  in  the  ship,  and  of  intense  agony  with 
Mark.  Betts  was  greatly  disturbed,  also ;  nor  would  it  have 
been  safe  for  one  of  Waallv's  men  to  have  been  within  reach  of 
his  arm,  just  then.  Gould  it  be  possible  that  Ooroony  had 
yielded  to  temptation,  and  played  them  false?     The  governor 


330  the    crater: 

could  hardly  believe  it;  and  as  for  Betts.  lie  protested  loudly 
it  could  not  be  so. 

"Is  that  bow-gun  ready?"  demanded  the  governor. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir ;  all  ready." 

"  Fire,  but  elevate  well — we  will  only  frighten  them,  at  first. 
Wo  betide  them,  if  they  resist." 

Betts  did  fire,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  everybody,  the 
brig  returned  a  broadside  !  But  resistance  ceased  with  this  one 
acl  of  energy,  if  it  could  be  so  termed.  Although  five  guns 
were  actually  fired,  and  Dearly  simultaneously,  no  aim  was  even 
attempted.  The  shot  all  flew  off  at  a  tangent  from  the  posi- 
ti"ii  of  the  ship;  and  no  harm  was  done  to  any  but  the  savages 
themselves,  of  whom  three  or  four  were  injured  by  the  recoils. 
From  the  moment  the  noise  and  smoke  were  produced,  every 
thing  like  order  ceased  on  board  the  brig,  which  was  filled  with 
savages.  The  vessel  br.iacliod-to,  and  the  sails  caught  aback. 
All  this  time,  the  Rancocus  was  steadily  drawing  nearer,  with 
an  intent  to  board  ;  but,  unwilling  to  expose  his  people,  most 
of  whom  were  unpractised  in  strife,  in  a  hand-to-hand  conflict 
with  ferocious  savages,  the  governor  ordered  a  gun,  loaded  with 
grape,  to  be  discharged  into  the  brig.  This  decided  the  affair 
at  once.  Half  a  dozen  were  killed  or  wounded  ;  some  ran  be- 
low ;  a  few  took  refuge  in  the  top  ;  but  most,  without  the 
slightest  hesitation,  jumped  overboard.  To  the  surprise  of  all 
who  saw  them,  the  men  in  the  water  began  to  swim  directly  to 
windward — a  circumstance  which  clearly  indicated  that  either 
land  or  canoes  were  to  be  found  in  that  quarter  of  the  ocean. 
Seeing  the  state  of  things  on  board  the  brig,  Mark  luffed  up 
under  her  counter,  and  laid  her  aboard.  In  a  minute,  he  and 
twenty  chosen  men  were  on  her  decks ;  in  another,  the  vessels 
were  again  clear  of  each  other,  and  the  Mermaid  under 
command. 

No  sooner  did  the  governor  discharge  his  duties  as  a  seaman, 
than  he  passed  below.  In  the  cabin  he  found  Mr.  Saunders 
(or  Captain  Saunders,  as  he  was  called  by  the  colonists),  bound 
hand  and  foot.     His  steward  was  in  the  same  situation,  and 


or,     vulcan's    peak.  331 

Bigelow  was  found,  also  a  prisoner,  in  the  steerage.  These 
were  all  the  colonists  on  board,  and  all  but  two  who  had  been 
on  board,  when  the  vessel  was  taken. 

Captain  Saunders  could  tell  the  governor  very  little  more 
than  he  saw  with  his  owi  eyes.  One  fact  of  importance,  how- 
ever, he  could  and  did  c  nnmunicate,  which  was  this :  instead 
of  being  to  windward  of  the  crater,  as  Mark  supposed,  he  was 
to  leeward  of  it ;  the  currents,  no  doubt,  having  set  the  ship  to 
the  westward  faster  than  had  been  thought.  Rancocus  Island 
would  have  been  made  by  sunset,  had  the  ship  stood  on  in  the 
course  she  was  steering  when  she  made  the  Mermaid. 

But  the  most  important  fact  was  the  safety  of  the  females. 
They  were  all  at  the  peak,  where  they  had  lived  for  the  last  six 
months,  or  ever  since  the  death  of  the  good  Ooroony  had  again 
placed  Waally  in  the  ascendant.  Ooroony' s  son  was  overturned 
immediately  on  the  decease  of  the  father,  who  died  a  natural 
death,  and  Waally  disregarded  the  taboo,  which  he  persuaded 
his  people  could  have  no  sanctity  as  applied  to  the  whites.  The 
plunder  of  these  last,  with  the  possession  of  the  treasure  of  iron 
and  copper  that  was  to  be  found  in  their  vessels,  had,  indeed, 
been  the  principal  bribe  with  which  the  turbulent  and  ambitious 
chief  regained  his  power.  The  war  did  not  break  out,  however, 
as  soon  as  Waally  had  effected  the  revolution  in  his  own  group. 
On  the  contrary,  that  wily  politician  had  made  so  many  prot- 
estations of  friendship  after  that  event,  which  he  declared  to  be 
necessary  to  the  peace  of  the  island ;  had  collected  so  much 
s;unlal-wood,  and  permitted  it  to  be  transferred  to  the  crater, 
where  a  cargo  was  already  stored ;  and  had  otherwise  made  so 
many  amicable  demonstrations,  as  completely  to  deceive  the 
colonists.  No  one  had  anticipated  an  invasion;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  preparations  were  being  made  at  the  peak  for  the  re- 
ception of  Mark,  whose  return  had  now  been  expected  daily  for 
a  fortnight. 

The  Mermaid  had  brought  over  a  light  freight  of  wood  from 
Betto's  group,  and  had  discharged  at  the  crater.  This  done, 
she  had  sailed  with  the  intention  of  going  out  to  cruise  for  the 


332  the    crater: 

Rancocus,  to  carry  the  news  of  the  colony,  all  of  which  was 
favorable,  with  the  exception  of  the  death  of  Ooroony  and  the 
recent  events;  but  was  lying  in  the  roads,  outside  of  every- 
thirfg — the  western  roads,  as  they  were  called,  or  those  near- 
est to  the  other  group — waiting  for  the  appointed  hour  of 
sailing,  which  was  to  be  the  very  morning  of  the  day  in  which 
she  was  fallen  in  with  by  the  governor.  Her  crew  consisted 
only  of  Captain  Saunders,  Bigelow,  the  cook  and  steward,  and 
two  of  the  people  engaged  at  Canton — one  of  whom  was  a 
very  good-for-nothing  Chinaman.  The  two  last  had  the  look- 
out, got  drunk,  and  permitted  a  fleet  of  hostile  canoes  to  get 
alongside  in  the  dark,  being  knocked  on  the  head  and  tossed 
overboard,  as  the  penalty  of  this  neglect  of  duty.  The  others 
owed  their  lives  to  the  circumstance  of  being  taken  in  their 
sleep,  when  resistance  was  out  of  the  question.  In  the  morn- 
ing, the  brig's  cable  was  cut,  sail  was  set,  after  a  fashion,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  carry  the  vessel  over  to  Betto's  group. 
It  is  very  questionable  whether  she  ever  could  have  aniv  1  ; 
but  that  point  was  disposed  of  by  the  opportune  appearance  of 
the  Rancocus. 

Saunders  could  communicate  nothing  of  the  subsequent 
course  of  the  invaders.  He  had  been  kept  below  the  whole 
time,  and  did  not  even  know  how  many  canoes  composed  the 
fleet  The  gang  in  possession  of  the  Mermaid  was  understood, 
however,  to  be  but  a  very  small  part  of  Waally's  force  present, 
that  chief  leading  in  person.  By  certain  half-comprehended 
declarations  of  his  conquerors,  Captain  Saunders  understood 
that  the  rest  had  entered  the  channel,  with  a  view  to  penetrate 
to  the  crater,  where  Socrates,  Unus,  and  Wattles  were  residing, 
with  their  wives  and  families,  and  where  no  greater  force  was 
left  when  the  Mermaid  sailed.  The  property  there,  however, 
was  out  of  all  proportion  in  value  to  the  force  of  those  whose 
business  it  was  to  take  care  of  it.  In  consequence  of  the  Ran- 
cocus' removal,  several  buildings  had  been  constructed  on  the 
reef,  and  one  house  of  very  respectable  dimensions  had  been 
put  up  on  the  Summit.       It  is  true,  these  houses  were  not  very 


OR,      VUUAN    8     PEAK.  333 

highly  finished  ;  but  they  were  of  great  value  to  persons  in  the 
situation  of  the  colonists.  Most  of  the  hogs,  moreover,  were 
still  rooting  and  tearing  up  the  thousand-acre  prairie  ;  where, 
indeed,  they  roamed  very  much  in  a  state  of  nature.  Socrates 
occasionally  carried  to  them  a  boat-load  of  "truck"  from  the 
crater,  in  order  to  keep  up  amicable  relations  with  them  ;  but 
they  were  little  better  than  so  many  wild  animals,  in  one  sense, 
though  there  had  not  been  time  materially  to  change  their 
natures.  In  the  whole,  including  young  and  old,  there  must 
have  been  near  two  hundred  of  these  animals  altogether,  their 
increase  being  very  rapid.  Then,  a  large  amount  of  the  stores 
sent  from  Canton,  including  most  of  the  iron,  was  in  store  at  the 
crater;  all  of  which  would  lay  at  the  mercy  of  Waally's  men  ; 
for  the  resistance  to  be  expected  from  the  three  in  possession 
could  not  amount  to  much. 

"The  governor  was  prompt  enough  in  his  decision,  as  soon  as 
he  understood  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  first  thing  was  to 
bring  the  vessels  close  by  the  wind,  and  to  pass  as  near  as 
possible  over  the  ground  where  the  swimmers  were  to  be 
found  ;  for  Mark  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  abandoning  a  hun- 
dred of  his  fellow-creatures  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean,  though 
they  were  enemies  and  savages.  By  making  short  stretches, 
and  tacking  two  or  three  times,  the  colonists  found  themselves 
in  the  midst  of  the  swimmers  ;  not  one  in  ten  of.  whom  would 
probably  ever  have  reached  the  land,  but  for  the  humanity  of 
their  foe.  Alongside  of  the  Mermaid  were  three  or  four 
canoes ;  and  these  were  cast  adrift  at  the  right  moment,  with- 
out any  parleying.  The  Indians  were  quick  enough  at  under- 
standing the  meaning  of  this,  and  swam  to  the  canoes  from  all 
sides,  though  still  anxious  to  get  clear  of  the  vessels.  On  board 
the  last  canoe  the  governor  put  all  his  prisoners,  when  he 
deemed  himself  happily  quit  of  the  whole  gang. 

There  were  three  known  channels  by  which  the  Rancocus 
could  be  carried  quite  up  to  the  crater.  Mark  chose  that  which 
came  in  from  the  northward,  both  because  it  was  the  nearest, 
and  because  he  could  lay  his  course  in  it  without  tacking,  for 


334  the    crater: 

most  of  the  way.  Acquainted  now  with  his  position,  Mark  had 
no  difficulty  in  finding  the  entrance  of  this  channel.  Furnish 
ing  the  Mermaid  with  a  dozen  hands,  she  was  sent  to  the  west- 
ern roads,  to  intercept  Waally's  llect,  should  it  be  coming  out 
with  the  booty.  In  about  an  hour  after  the  Eancocus  altered 
her  course,  she  made  the  land  ;  and,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting, 
she  got  so  close  in  as  to  be  able  to  anchor  in  the  northern 
roads,  where  there  was  not  only  a  lee,  but  good  holding- 
ground.  Here  the  ship  passed  the  night,  the  governor  not 
liking  to  venture  into  the  narrow  passages  in  the  dark. 


OR,      VULCAN    8      PEAK.  335 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"Fancy  can  charm  and  feeling  bless 

With  sweeter  hours  than  fashion  knows; 
There  is  no  calmer  quietness, 
Than  home  around  the  bosom  throws." 

Peectvai. 

Although  the  governor  deemed  it  prudent  to  anchor  for  the 
night,  he  did  not  neglect  the  precaution  of  reconnoitring. 
Betts  was  sent  toward  the  reef,  in  a  boat  well  armed  and  man- 
ned, in  order  to  ascertain  the  state  of  things  in  that  quarter. 
His  instructions  directed  him  to  push  forward  as  far  as  he  could, 
and,  if  possible,  to  hold  some  sort  of  communication  with  Soc- 
rates, who  might  now.be  considered  as  commander  at  the  point 
assailed. 

Fortunate  was  it  that  the  governor  bethought  him  of  this 
measure.  As  Betts  had  the  ship's  launch,  which  carried  two 
lug-sails,  his  progress  was  both  easy  and  rapid,  and  he  actually 
got  in  sight  of  the  reef  before  midnight.  To  his  astonishment, 
all  seemed  to  be  tranquil,  and  Betts  at  first  believed  that  the 
savages  had  completed  their  work  and  departed.  Being  a  bold 
fellow,  however,  a  distant  reconnoitring  did  not  satisfy  him  ; 
and  on  he  went,  until  his  boat  fairly  lay  alongside  of  the  natural 
quay  of  the  reef  itself.  Here  he  landed,  and  marched  toward 
the  entrance  of  the  crater.  The  gate  was  negligently  open,  and, 
on  entering  the  spacious  arena,  the  men  found  all  quiet,  without 
any  indications  of  recent  violence.  Betts  knew  that  those  who 
dwelt  in  this  place,  usually  preferred  the  Summit  for  sleeping, 
and  he  ascended  to  one  of  the  huts  that  had  been  erected  there. 
Here  he  found  the  whole  of  the  little  garrison  of  the  group, 
buried  in  sleep,  and  totally   without  any  apprehension  of  the 


336  the    crater: 

danger  which  menaced  them.  As  it  now  appeared,  Waally'a 
men  had  not  yet  shown  themselves,  and  Socrates  knew  nothing 
at  all  of  what  had  happened  to  the  brig. 

Glad  enough  was  the  negro  to  shake  hands  with  Betts,  and 
to  hear  tli.it  Master  Mark  was  so  near  at  hand,  with  a  powerful 
reinforcement.  The  party  already  arrived  might,  indeed,  be 
termed  the  last,  for  the  governor  had  sent  with  his  first  officer, 
on  this  occasion,  no  less  than  five-and-twenty  men,  each  com- 
pletely armed.  With  such  a  garrison,  Betts  deemed  the  crater 
safe,  and  he  senl  back  the  launch  with  four  seamen  in  it,  to  re- 
port the  condition  in  which  he  had  found  matters,  and  to  com- 
municate  all  else  that  he  had  learned.  This  done,  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  defences  of  the  place. 

According  to  Socrates'  account,  no  great  loss  in  property 
would  he  likely  to  occur,  could  the  colonists  make  good  the 
reef  against  their  invaders.  The  Abraham  was  over  at  the 
peak,  sate  enough  in  the  cove,  as  were  the  Neshamony  and  sev- 
eral of  the  boats,  only  two  or  three  of  the  smaller  of  the  last 
being  with  him.  The  hogs  and  cows  were  most  exposed, 
though  nearly  half  of  the  stock  was  now  habitually  kept  on  the 
peak.  "Still,  a  couple  of  hundred  hogs  were  on  the  prairie,  as 
were  no  less  than  eight  horned  cattle,  including  calves.  The 
loss  of  the  last  would  be  greatly  felt,  and  it  was  much  to  be 
feared,  since  the  creatures  were  very  LT'iitle,  and  might  be  easily 
caught.  Betts,  however,  had  fewer  apprehensions  touching 
the  cattle  than  for  the  hogs,  since  the  latter  might  be  slain  with 
arrows,  while  he  was  aware  that  Waally  wished  to  obtain  the 
first  alive. 

Agreeably  to  the  accounts  of  Socrates,  the  progress  of  vegeta- 
tion had  been  very  great  throughout  the  entire  group.  Grass 
grew  wherever  the  seed  was  sown,  provided  any  thing  like  soil 
existed,  and  the  prairie  was  now  a  vast  range,  most  of  which 
was  green,  and  all  of  which  was  firm  enough  to  bear  a  hoof. 
The  trees,  of  all  sorts,  were  flourishing  also,  and  Betts  was 
assured  he  would  not  know  the  group  again  when  he  came  to 
see  it  by  daylight.     All  this  was  pleasant  intelligence,  at  least, 


or,     vul can's    peak.  337 

to  the  eager  listeners  among  the  new  colonists,  who  had  now 
been  so  long  on  board  ship,  that  any  thing  in  the  shape  of 
terra  firma  and  of  verdure  appeared  to  them  like  paradise. 
But  Betts  had  .too  many  things  to  think  of,  just  then,  to 'give 
much  heed  to  the  eulogium  of  Socrates,  and  he  soon  bestowed 
all  his  attention  on  the  means  of  defence. 

As  there  was  but  one  way  of  approaching  the  crater,  unless 
by  water,  and  that  was  along  the  hog  pasture  and  across  the 
plank  bridge,  Bob  felt  tjje  prudence  of  immediately  taking  pos- 
session of  the  pass.  He  ordered  Socrates  to  look  to  the  gate, 
where  he  stationed  a  guard,  and  went  himself,  with  ten  men, 
to  make  sure  of  the  bridge.  It  was  true,  Waallv's  men  could 
swim,  and  would- not  be  very  apt  to  pause  long  at  the  basin  ; 
but  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  fight  them  while  in  the  water, 
that  ought  not  to  be  thrown  away.  The  carronades  were  all 
loaded,  moreover ;  and  these  precautions  taken,  and  sentinels 
posted,  Betts  suffered  his  men  to  sleep  on  their  arms,  if  sleep 
they  could.  Their  situation  was  so  novel,  that  few  availed  them- 
selves of  the  privilege,  though  their  commanding  officer,  him- 
self, was  soon  snoring  most  musically. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  Waally  made  his  assault  just 
as  the  day  appeared.  Before  that  time,  however,  the  launch 
had  got  back  to  the  ship,  and  the  latter  was  under  way,  coming 
fast  toward  the  crater.  Unknown  to  all,  though  anticipated 
by  Mark,  the  Mermaid  had  entered  the  western  passage,  and 
was  beating  up  through  it,  closing  fast  also  on  "Waally' s  rear. 
Such  was  the  state  of  things,  when  the  yell  of  the  assailants 
was  heard. 

Waally  made  his  first  push  for  the  bridge,  expecting  to  find 
it  unguarde' 1,  and  hoping  to  cross  it  unresisted.  He  knew  that 
the  ship  was  gone,  and  no  longer  dreaded  her  fire;  but  he  was 
fully  aware  that  the  Summit  had  its  guns,  and  he  wished  to 
seize  them  while  his  men  were  still  impelled  by  the  ardor  of 
a  first  onset.  Those  formidable  engines  of  war  were  held  in. 
the  most  profound  respect  by  all  his  people,  and  Waally  knew 
the    importance    of  in   a   rapid    movement.     He  had 

15 


338  the    crater: 

gleaned  so  much  information  concerning  the  state  of  the  reef, 
that  lie  expected  no  great  resistance,  fully  believing  that,  now 
he  had  seized  the  Mermaid,  his  enemies  would  be  reduced  in 
numbers  to  less  than  half  a  dozen.  In  all  this,  he  was  right 
enough ;  and  there  can  be  no  question  that  Socrates  and  his 
whole  party,  together  with  the  reef,  and,  for  that  matter,  the 
entire  group,  would  have  fallen  into  his  hands,  but  for  the 
timely  arrival  of  the  reinforcement.  The  yell  arose  when  it 
was  ascertained  thai  the  bridge  was  drawn  in,  and  it  was  suc- 
ceeded  by  a  volley  from  the  guard  posted  near  it,  on  the  reef, 
This  commenced  the  strife,  which  immediately  raged  with  great 
fury,  and  with  prodigious  clamor.  Waally  had  all  his  muskets 
lired.  to,.,  though  a-  yet  he  saw  ii"  enemy,  and  did  not  know 
in  what  direction  to  aim.  lie  could  see  men  moving  about  on 
the  reef,  it  is  true,  bu1  it  was  only  at  moments,  as  they  mostly 
kept  themselves  behind  the  covers.  After  tiring  his  muskets, 
the  chief  issued  an  order  for  a  charge,  and  several  hundreds  of 
his  warriors  plunged  into  the  basin,  and  began  to  swim  toward 
the  point  to  be  assailed.  This  movement  admonished  Betts  of 
the  prudence  of  retiring  toward  the  gate,  which  he  did  in  good 
order,  and  somewhat  deliberately.  This  time,  Waally  actually 
got  his  men  upon  the  reef  without  a  panic  and  without  loss. 
They  lauded  in  a  crowd,  and  were  soon  rushing  in  all  directions, 
eager  for  plunder,  and  thirsting  for  blood.  Betts  was  enabled, 
notwithstanding,  to  enter  the  gate,  which  he  did  without  delay, 
perfectly  satisfied  that  all  efforts  of  his  to  resist  the  torrent 
without  must  be  vain.  As  soon  as  his  party  had  entered,  the 
gate  was  closed,  and  Betts  was  at  liberty  to  bestow  all  his  care 
on  the  defence  of  the  crater. 

The  great  extent  of  the  citadel,  which  contained  an  area  of 
not  less  than  a  hundred  acres,  it  will  be  remembered,  rendered 
its  garrison  very  insufficient  for  a  siege.  It  is  probable  that  no 
one  there  would  have  thought  of  defending  it,  but  for  the  cer- 
tainty of  powerful  support  being  at  hand.  This  certainty  en- 
couraged the  garrison,  rendering  their  exertions  more  ready  and 
cheerful.     Betts  divided  his  men  into  parties  of  two,  scattering 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  3:19 

them  along  the  Summit,  with  orders  to  be  vigilant,  and  to  sup- 
port each  other.  It  was  well  knowTn  that  a  rnau  could  not  enter 
from  without  unless  by  the  gate,  or  aided  by  ladders,  or  some 
other  mechanical  invention.  The  time  necessary  to  provide  the 
last  would  bring  broad  daylight,  and  enable  the  colonists  to 
march  such  a  force  to  the  menaced  point,  as  would  be  pretty 
certain  to  prove  sufficient  to  resist  the  assailants.  The  gate 
itself  was  commanded  by  a  carronade,  and  was  watched  by  a 
guard. 

Great  wras  the  disappointment  of  Waally  when  he  ascertained, 
by  personal  examination,  that  the  Summit  could  not  be  scaled, 
even  by  the  most  active  of  his  party,  without  recourse  to  assist- 
ance by  means  of  artificial  contrivances.  He  had  the  sagacity 
to  collect  all  his  men  immediately  beneath  the  natural  walls, 
where  they  were  alone  safe  from  the  fire  of  the  guns,  but  where 
they  were  also  useless.  A  large  pile  of  iron,  an  article  so  cov- 
eted, was  in  plain  sight  beneath,  a  shed,  but  he  did  not  dare  to 
send  a  single  hand  to  touch  it,  since  it  would  have  brought  the 
adventurer  under  fire.  A  variety  of  other  articles,  almost  as 
tempting,  though  not,  perhaps,  of  the  same  intrinsic  value,  lay 
also  in  sight,  but  were  tabooed  by  the  magic  of  powder  and 
balls.  Eleven  hundred  warriors,  as  was  afterward  ascertained, 
landed  on  the  reef  that  eventful  morning,  and  assembled  under 
the  walls  of  the  crater.  A  hundred  more  remained  in  the  ca- 
noes, which  lay  about  a  league  off,  in  the  western  passage,  or 
to  leeward,  awaiting  the  result  of  the  enterprise. 

The  first  effort  made  by  Waally  was  to  throw  a  force  upward, 
by  rearing  one  man  on  another's  shoulders.  This  scheme  suc- 
led  in  part,  but  the  fellow  who  first  showed  his  head  above 
the  perpendicular  part  of  the  cliff,  received  a  bullet  in  his  brains. 
The  muskel  was  fired  by  the  hands  of  Socrates.  This  one  dis- 
charge brought  down  the  wh^lc  fabric,  several  of  those  who  fell 
sustaining  serious  injuries,  in  the  way  of  broken  bones. 

The  completely  isolated  position  of  the  crater,  which  stood, 
as  it  mighl  be,  aloof  from  all  surrounding  objects,  added  mate- 
rially to  its  strength  in  a  military  sense,  and  Waally  was  puzzled 


340  the    crater: 

bow  to  overcome  difficulties  that  might  have  embarrassed  a 
more  civilized  soldier.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  that  war- 
rior had  encountered  a  Bort  of  Portress,  which  could  be  entered 
only  by  regular  approaches,  unless  it  might  be  carried  by  acoup- 
de-main.  At  the  latter  the  savages  were  expert  enough,  and  on 
it  they  had  mainly  relied;  but,  disappointed  in  this  respect, 
they  found  themselves  thrown  hack  on  resources  tbat  were  far 
from  being  equal  to  the  emergency. 

Tired  of  inactivity,  Waally  finally  decided  on  making  a  des- 
perate effort  The  ship-yard  was  still  kept  up  as  a  place  for  the 
repairing  of  boat-,  i  tc,  and  it  always  had  more  or  less  Lumber 
King  in,  or  near  it.  Selecting  a  party  of  a  hundred  resolute 
men,  and  placing  them  under  the  orders  of  one  of  his  bravest 
chiefs,  Waally  sent  them  off,  on  the  run,  to  bring  as  much  tim- 
ber, boards,  planks,  etc.,  as  they  could  carry,  within  the  cover 
of  the  cliffs.  Xow,  Betts  had  foreseen  the  probability  of  this 
very  Bortie,  and  had  levelled  one  of  his  carronades,  loaded  to 
the  muzzle  \\  ith  canister,  directly  at  the  largest  pile  of  the  planks. 
No  sooner  did  the  adventurers  appear,  therefore,  than  be  blew 
his  match.  The  savages  were  collected  around  the  planks  in  a 
crowd,  when  lie  fired  his  gun.  A  dozen  of  them  fell,  and  the 
inisbed  like  so  much  dust  scattered  by  a  whirlwind. 

Just  at  tbat  moment  the  cry  passed  along  the  Summit  that 
the  Uancocus  was  in  sight.  The  governor  must  have  heard  the 
report  of  the  gun,  for  he  discharged  one  in  return,  an  encour- 
aging  signal  of  bis  approach.  In  a  minute  a  third  came  from 
the  westward,  and  Betts  saw  the  sails  of  the  Mermaid  over  the 
low  laud.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  the  reports  of 
the  two  guns  from  a  distance,  and  the  appearance  of  the  two 
vessels,  put  an  end  at  once  to  all  Waally' s  schemes,  and  induced 
him  to  commence,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  a  second  re- 
treat from  the  spot  which,  like  Nelson's  frigates,  might  almost 
be  said  to  be  imprinted  on  bis  heart. 

"Waally  reth-ed  successfully,  if  not  with  much  dignity.  At 
a  given  signal  bis  men  rushed  for  the  water,  plunged  in,  and 
swam  across  the  basin  again.     It  was  in  Betts'  power  to  have 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  341 

killed  many  on  the  retreat,  but  he  was  averse  to  shedding 
blood  unnecessarily.  Fifty  lives,  more  or  less,  could  be  of  no 
great  moment  in  the  result,  as  soon  as  a  retreat  was  decided 
on  ;  and  the  savages  were  permitted  to  retire,  and  to  carry  off 
their  killed  and  wounded  without  molestation.  The  last  was 
done  by  wheeling  forward  the  planks,  and  crossing  at  the 
bridge. 

It  was  far  easier,  however,  for  Waally  to  gain  his  canoes, 
than  to  know  which  way  to  steer  after  he  had  reached  them. 
The  Mermaid  cut  off  his  retreat  by  the  western  passage,  and 
the  Rancocus  was  coming  fast  alon^  the  northern.  In  order  to 
reach  either  the  eastern  or  the  southern,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  pass  within  gun-shot  of  the  reef,  and,  what  was  more,  to 
run  the  gauntlet  between  the  crater  and  the  Raucocus.  To 
this  clanger  Waally  was  compelled  to  submit,  since  he  had  no 
other  means  of  withdrawing  his  fleet.  It  was  true,  that  by 
paddling  to  windward,  he  greatly  lessened  the  danger  he  ran 
from  the  two  vessels,  since  it  would  not  be  in  their  power  to 
overtake  him  in  the  narrow  channels  of  the  group,  so  long  as 
he  went  in  the  wind's  eye.  It  is  probable  that  the  savages  un- 
derstood this,  and  that  the  circumstance  greatly  encouraged 
them  in  the  effort  they  immediately  made  to  get  into  the  east- 
ern passage.  Betts  permitted  them  to  pass  the  reef,  without 
firing  at  them  again,  though  some  of  the  canoes  were  at  least 
half  an  hour  within  the  range  of  his  guns,  while  doing  so.  It 
was  lucky  for  the  Indians  that  the  Rancocus  did  not  arrive  un- 
til the  last  of  their  party  were  as  far  to  windward  as  the  spot 
where  the  ship  had  anchored  when  she  was  first  brought  up  by 
artificial  means  into  those  waters. 

Betts  went  off  to  meet  the  governor,  in  order  to  make  an 
early  report  of  his  proceedings.  It  was  apparent  that  the  dan- 
ger was  over,  and  Woolston  was  not  sorry  to  find  that  success 
was  obtained  without  recourse  to  his  batteries.  The  ship  went 
immediately  alongside  of  the  natural  quay,  and  her  people 
poured  ashore,  in  a  crowd,  the  instant  a  plank  could  be  ran 
out  in   order  to  enable  them  to  do  so.     In  an  hour  the  cows 


342  the    crater: 

were  landed  and  were  grazing  in  the  crater,  where  the  grass 
was  knee-high,  and  every  thing  possessing  life  was  out  of  the 
ship,  the  rats  and  cockroaches,  perhaps,  excepted.  As  for  the 
enemy,  no  one  now  cared  for  them.  The  man  aloft  said  they 
could  he  seen  paddling  away  as  it'  for  life,  and  already  too  far 
for  pursuit.  It  would  have  been  easy  enough  for  the  vessels  to 
cut  off  the  fugitives  by  going  into  the  oiling  again,  but  this  was 
imt  the  desire  of  any  there,  all  being  too  happy  to  he  rid  of 

them,  to  take  any  Bteps  to  prolong  the  intercourse. 

<  licit  was  the  delight  of  the  colonists  to  be  once  more  on 
the  land.     Under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  immigrants  might 

not    have    Been    so   many    charms   in   the    reef,    and    crater,    and 

hog-lot;  but  five  months  at  sea  have  a  powerful  influence  in 
rendering  the  most  barren  Bpol  beautiful  Barrenness,  how- 
ever, was  a  reproach  that  could  n<>  longer  he  justly  applied  to 
the  group,  and  most  especially  to  those  portions  of  it  which 
had  received  the  attention  of  its  people.  Even  trees  were  be- 
ginning to  be  numerous,  thousands  of  them  having  been  planted, 
Borne  for  their  fruits,  some  for  their  wood,  and  others  merely 
for  the  shade.  Of  willows  alone,  Socrates  with  his  own  hand 
had  set  out  more  than  live,  thousand,  the  operation  being  sim- 
ply  that  of  thrusting  the  end  of  a  branch  into  the  mud.  Of 
the  rapidity  of  the  growth  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak; 
though  it  quadrupled  that  known  even  to  the  most  fertile  re- 
gions of  America. 

llcre,  then,  was  Mark  once  more  at  home,  after  so  long  a 
There  was  his  ship,  too,  well  freighted  with  a  hun- 
dred things,  all  of  which  would  contribute  to  the  comfort  and 
well-being  of  the  colonists  !  It  was  a  moment  when  the  gover- 
nor s  heart  was  overflowing  with  gratitude,  and  could  he  then 
have  taken  Bridget  and  his  children  in  his  arms,  the  cup  of 
happiness  would  have  heen  full.  Bridget  was  not  forgotten, 
however,  for  in  less  than  half  an  hour  after  the  ship  was  secured, 
Betts  sailed  in  the  Neshamony  for  the  peak ;  he  was  to  carry 
over  the  joyful  tidings,  and  to  bring  the  "  governor's  lady"  to 
the  reef.     Ere  the  sun  set,  or  about  that  time,  his  return  mighi 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  343 

be  expected,  the  Neshamony  mating  the  trip  in  much  less  time 
than  one  of  the  smaller  boats.  It  was  not  necessary,  however. 
for  Betts  to  go  so  far,  for  when  he  had  fairly  cleared  Cape 
South,  and  was  in  the  strait,  he  fell  in  with  the  Abraham, 
bound  over  to  the  reef.  It  appeared  that  some  signs  of  the 
hostile  canoes  had  been  seen  from  the  peak,  as  AVaally  was 
crossing  from  Rancocus  Island,  and,  after  a  council,  it  had 
been  decided  to  send  the  Abraham  across,  to  notify  the  people 
on  the  reef  of  the  impending  danger,  and  to  aid  in  repelling 
the  enemy.  Bridget  and  Martha  had  both  come  in  the  schoon- 
er ;  the  first,  to  look  after  the  many  valuables  she  had  left  at 
the  "governor's  house,"  on  the  Summit,  and  the  last  as  her 
companion. 

We  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  the  joy  that  was  exhibited, 
when  those  on  board  the  Abraham  ascertained  the  arrival  of 
the  Rancocus  !  Bridget  was  in  ecstasies,  and  greatly  did  she 
exult  in  her  own  determination  to  cross  on  this  occasion,  and 
to  bring  her  child  with  her.  After  the  first  burst  of  happiness, 
and  the  necessary  explanations  had  been  made,  a  consultation 
was  had  touching  what  was  next  to  be  done.  Brown  was  in 
command  of  the  Abraham,  with  a  sufficient  crew,  and  Betts 
sent  him  to  windward,  outside  of  every  thing,  to  look  after  the 
enemy.  It  was  thought  desirable  not  only  to  see  Waally  well 
clear  of  the  group,  but  to  force  him  to  pass  off  to  the  north- 
ward, in  order  that  he  might  not  again  approach  the  reef,  as 
well  as  to  give  him  so  much  annoyance  on  his  retreat  as  to 
sicken  him  of  these  expeditions  for  the  future.  For  such  a 
service  the  schooner  was  much  the  handiest  of  all  the  vessels  of 
the  colonists,  since  she  might  be  worked  by  a  couple  of  hand-, 
and  her  armament  was  quite  sufficient  for  all  that  was  required 
of  her  on  the  occasion.  Brown  was  every  way  competent  to 
command,  as  Betts  well  knew,  and  he  received  the  females  on 
board  the  Neshamony  and  put  about,  leaving  the  schooner  to 
turn  to  windward. 

Bridget  reached  the  reef  before  it  was  noon.  All  the  pro- 
ceedings of  that  day  had  commenced  so  early,  that  there  had 


rU-i  the    crater: 

been  time  for  this.  The  governor  saw  the  Neshamony  as  she 
approached,  and  great  uneasiness  beset  him.  ITo  knew  she  bad 
not  been  as  far  as  the  peak,  and  supposed  that  Waally's  fleet 
had  intercepted  her,  Betts  coming  back  for  reinforcements. 
But,  as  the  boat  drew  near,  the  fluttering  of  female  dresses  was 
seen,  and  then  lii>  unerring  glass  let  him  get  a  distant  view  of 
the  sweet  face  of  his  young  wife.  From  that  moment  the 
governor  waa  incapable  of  giving  a  coherent  or  useful  order, 
until  Bridget  had  arrived.  Vessels  that  came  in  from  the  south- 
ward were  obliged  to  pass  through  the  narrow  entrance  between 
the  reef  and  the  hog-lot,  where  was  the  drawbridge  so  often 
mentioned.  There  was  water  enough  to  float  a  frigate,  and  it 
was  possible  to  take  a  frigate  through,  the  width  being  about 
fifty  feet,  though  as  yet  nothing  larger  than  the  Friend  Abraham 
White  had  made  the  trial.  At  this  point,  then,  Woolston  took 
his  Btation,  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  Neshamony  with  an  im- 
patience he  was  a  little  ashamed  of  exhibiting. 

Betts  saw  the  governor  in  good  time,  and  pointed  him  out 
to  Bridget,  who  could  hardly  be  kept  on  board  the  boat,  so 
slow  did  the  pi  :'  the  craft  now  seem.     But  the  tender 

love  which  this  young  couple  bore  each  other  was  soon  to  be 
rewarded;  for  Mark  Bprang  on  board  the  Neshamony  as  she 
went  through  the  narrow  pass,  and  immediately  he  had  Bridget 
1  to  his  heart. 

Foreigners  are  apt  to  say  that  we  children  of  this  western 
world  do  not  submit  to  the  tender  emotions  with  the  same  self- 
abandonment  as  those  who  are  born  nearer  to  the  rising  sun; 
thai  our  hearts  are  as  cold  and  selfish  as  our  manners;  and 
that  we  live  more  for  the  lower  and  grovelling  passions,  than 
for  sentiment  and  the  affections.  Most  sincerely  do  we  wish 
that  every  charge  which  European  jealousy  and  European 
superciliousness  have  brought  against  the  American  character, 
as  false  as  this.  That  the  people  of  this  country  are 
more  restrained  in  the  exhibition  of  all  their  emotions  than 
those  across  the  great  waters,  we  believe  ;  but  that  the  \astfeel 
the  most,  we  shall  be  very  unwilling  to  allow.     Most  of  all  shall 


Oil,     VULCAN    S      PKAiv.  .345 

wo  deny  that  the  female  form  contains  hearts  more  true  to  all 
its  affections,  spirits  more  devoted  to  the  interests  of  its  earthly 
head,  or  an  identity  of  existence  more  perfect  than  those  with 
which  the  American  wife  clings  to  her  husband.  She  is  literally 
"bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh."  It  is  seldom  that 
her  wishes  cross  the  limits  of  the  domestic  circle,  which  to  her 
is  earth  itself,  and  all  that  it  contains  which  is  most  desirable. 
Her  husband  and  children  compose  her  little  world,  and  beyond 
them  and  their  sympathies,  it  is  rare  indeed  that  her  truant 
affections  ever  wish  to  stray.  A  part  of  this  concentration  of 
the  American  wife's  existence  in  these  domestic  interests,  is 
doubtless  owing  to  the  simplicity  of  American  life  and  the  ab- 
sence of  temptation.  Still,  so  devoted  is  the  female  heart,  so 
true  to  its  impulses,  and  so  little  apt  to  wander  from  home-feel- 
ings and  home-duties,  that  the  imputation  to  which  there  is 
allusion,  is  just  that,  of  all  others,  to  which  the  wives  of  the 
republic  ought  not  to  be  subject. 

It  was  even-tide  before  the  governor  was  again  seen  among 
his  people.  By  this  time  the  immigrants  had  taken  their  first 
survey  of  the  reef  and  the  nearest  islands,  which,  the  least  san- 
guine of  their  numbers  admitted,  quite  equalled  the  statements 
they  had  originally  heard  of  the  advantages  of  the  place.  It 
was,  perhaps,  fortunate  that  the  fruits  of  the  tropics  were  so 
abundant  with  Socrates  and  his  companions.  By  this  time, 
oranges  abounded,  more  than  a  thousand  trees  having,  from 
time  to  time,  been  planted  in  and  around  the  crater  alone. 
Groves  of  them  were  also  appearing  in  favorable  spots  on  the 
adjacent  islands.  It  is  true,  these  trees  were  yet  too  young  to 
produce  very  bountifully  ;  but  they  had  begun  to  bear,  and  it 
was  thought  a  very  delightful  thing,  among  the  fresh  arrivals 
l'n mi  Pennsylvania,  to  be  able  to  walk  in  an  orange  grove,  and 
to  pluck  the  fruit  at  pleasure  ! 

As  for  figs,  melons,  limes,  shaddocks,  and  even  cocoa-nuts, 

all  were  now  to  be  had,  and  in  quantities  quite  sufficient  for  the 

population.  In  time,  the  colonists  craved  the  apples  of  their  own 

latitude,  and  the  peach — those  two  fruits,  so  abundant  and  so 

15* 


34G  the    crater: 

delicious  in  their  ancient  homes;  but  the  novelty  was  still  on 
them,  and  it  required  time  to  learn  the  feet  that  we  tire  less  of 
the. apple,  and  the  peach,  and  the  potato,  than  of  any  other  of 
the  rarest  gifts  of  nature.  That  which  the  potato  has  become 
among  vegetables,  is  the  apple  among  fruits  ;  and  when  we  rise 
into  the  more  luscious  and  temporary  of  the  bountiful  products 
of  horticulture,  the  peach  (in  its  perfection)  occupies  a  place 
ther  apart,  having  no  rival  in  its  exquisite  flavor,  while  it 
never  produces  satiety.  The  peach  and  the  grape  are  the  two 
most  precious  of  the  gifts  of  Providence,  in  the  way  of  fruits. 

That  night  most  of  the  immigrants  slept  in  the  ship;  nearly 
all  of  them,  however,  for  the  last  time  About  ten  in  the  fore- 
noon, Brown  came  running  down  to  the  reef,  through  the  east- 
ern passage,  to  report  Waally  well  off,  having  quitted  the  group 
to  windward,  and  made  tie  besl  <>)'  his  way  toward  his  own  isl- 
ands, without  turning  aside  to  make  a  starting-point  of  Ranco- 
cus.  It  was  a  good  deal  questioned  whether  the  chief  would 
find  his  proper  dominions,  after  a  run  of  four  hundred  miles; 
tor  a  very  trifling  deviation  from  the  true  course  at  starting, 
would  he  very  apt  to  bring  him  out  wide  of  his  goal.  This  was 
a  matter,  however,  that  gave  the  colonists  very  little  concern. 
greater  the  embarrassments  encountered  by  their  enemies, 
the  less  likely  would  they  he  to  repeat  the  visit;  and  should  a 
few  perish,  it  might  be  all  the  better  for  themselves.  The  gov- 
ernor greatly  approved  of  Brown's  course  in  not  following  the 
canoes,  since  the  repulse  was  sufficient  as  it  was,  and  there  was 
very  little  probability  that  the  colony  would  meet  with  any 
further  difficulty  from  this  quarter,  now  that  it  had  got  to  be 
so  strong. 

That  day  and  the  next,  the  immigrants  were  busy  in  landing 
ill eir  effects,  which  consisted  of  furniture,  tools,  and  stores,  of 
one  sort  and  another.  As  the  governor  intended  to  send,  at 
once,  forty  select  families  over  to  the  peak,  the  Abraham  was 
brought  alongside  of  the  quay,  and  the  property  of  those 
particular  families  was,  as  it  came  ashore,  sent  on  board 
the  schooner.     Males  and  females  were  all  employed  in  this 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  347 

duly,  the  reef  resembling  a  bee-hive  just  at  that  point.  Bill 
Brown,  who  still  commanded  the  Abraham,  was,  of  course,  pres- 
ent ;  and  he  made  an  occasion  to  get  in  company  with  the  gov- 
ernor, with  whom  he  held  the  following  short  dialogue  : 

"A  famous  ship's  company  is  this,  sir,  you've  landed  among 
us,  and  some  on  'em  is  what  I  calls  of  the  right  sort  !" 

"I  understand  you,  Bill,"  answered  Mark,  smiling.  "Your 
commission  has  been  duly  executed  ;  and  Phoebe  is  here,  ready 
to  be  spliced  as  soon  as  there  shall  be  an  opportunity." 

"That  is  easily  enough  made,  when  people's  so  inclined,"  said 
Bill,  fidgeting.  "If  you'd  be  so  good,  sir,  as  just  to  point  out 
the  young  woman  to  me,  I  might  be  beginning  to  like  her,  in 
the  meanwhile." 

"Young?  Nothing  was  said  about  that  in  the  order,  Bill. 
You  wished  a  wife,  invoiced  and  consigned  to  yourself ;  and  one 
has  been  shipped,  accordingly.  You  must  consider  the  state 
of  the  market,  and  remember  that  the  article  is  in  demand  pre- 
cisely as  it  is  youthful." 

"  Well,  well,  sir,  I'll  not  throw  her  on  your  hands,  if  she's 
old  enough  to  be  my  mother;  though  I  do  rather  suppose,  Mr. 
Woolston,  you  stood  by  an  old  shipmate  in  a  foreign  land,  and 
that  there  is  a  companion  suitable  for  a  fellow  of  only  two-and- 
thirty  sent  out  ?" 

"  Of  that  you  shall  judge  for  yourself,  Bill.  Here  she 
comes,  carrying  a  looking-glass,  as  if  it  were  to  look  at  her 
own  pretty  face ;  and  if  she  prove  to  be  only  as  good  as  she  is 
good-looking,  you  will  have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied.  What 
is  more,  Bill,  your  wife  does  not  come  empty-handed,  having  a 
great  many  articles  that  will  help  to  set  you  up  comfortably  in 
housekeeping." 

Brown  was  highly  pleased  with  the  governor's  choice,  which 
had  been  made  with  a  due  regard  to  the  interests  and  tastes  of 
the  absent  shipmate.  Phoebe  appeared  well  satisfied  with  her 
allotted  husband,  and  that  very  day  the  couple  were  united  in 
the  cabin  of  the  Abraham.  On  the  same  occasion,  the  cere- 
mony was  performed  for  Unus  and  Juno,  as  well  as  for  Peters 


348  the    crater: 

and  his  Indian  wife  ;  the  governor  considering  it  proper  that 
regard  to  appearances  and  all  decent  observances  should  be 
paid,  as  comported  with  their  situation. 

About  sunset  of  the  third  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  Ilanco- 
cus,  the  Abraham  sailed  for  the  peak,  having  on  board  some- 
what less  than  a  hundred  of  the  immigrants,  including  females 
and  children.  The  Xeshamony  preceded  her  several  hours, 
taking  across  the  governor  and  his  family.  Mark  longed  to  see 
his  sister  Anne,  and  his  two  brothers  participated  in  this  wish, 
if  possible,  in  a  still  more  lively  manner. 

The  meeting  of  these  members  of  the  same  family  was  of 
the  most  touching  character.  The  young  men  found  their 
Bister  much  better  established  than  they  hail  anticipated,  and 
in  the  enjoymenl  of  very  many  more  comforts  than  they  had 
supposed  it  was  iii  the  power  of  any  one  to  possess  in  a  colony 
>till  so  young.  Beaton  had  erected  a  habitation  for  himself,  in 
a  charming  grove,  where  there  were  water,  fruits,  and  other 
conveniences  near  at  band,  and  where  his  own  family  was 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  community.  This  distinction 
had  been  conferred  on  him  by  common  consent,  in  virtue  of 
his  near  affinity  to  the  governor,  whose  substitute  he  then  was, 
and  out  of  respect  to  his  education  and  original  rank  in  life. 
Seamen  are  accustomed  to  defer  to  station  and  authority,  and 
are  all  the  happier  for  the  same  ;  and  the  thought  of  any  jeal- 
ousy on  account  of  this  privilege,  which  as  yet  was  confined  to 
Mark  and  Heaton,  and  their  respective  families,  had  not  yet 
crossed  the  mind  of  any  one  on  the  island. 

About  twelve,  or  at  midnight,  the  Abraham  entered  the 
cove.  Late  as  was  the  hour,  each  immigrant  assumed  a  load 
i suited  to  his  or  her  strength,  and  ascended  the  stairs,  favored 
by  the  sweet  light  of  a  full  moon.  That  night  most  of  the 
new-comers  passed  in  the  groves,  under  tents,  or  in  an  arbor 
that  had  been  prepared  for  them  ;  and  sweet  was  the  repose 
that  attended  happiness  and  security,  in  a  climate  so  agreeable. 

Next  morning,  when  the  immigrants  came  out  of  their  tern 
porary  dwellings,  and  looked  upon  the  fair  scene  before  them, 


OR,     VULCAN    S      PEAK. 


349 


they  could  scarcely  believe  in  its  reality  !  It  is  true,  nothing 
remarkable  or  unexpected  met  their  eyes  in  the  shape  of  arti- 
ficial accessories  ;  but  the  beautiful  gifts  of  Providence,  and 
the  natural  beauties  of  the  spot,  as  much  exceeded  their  antici- 
pations as  it  did  their  power  of  imagining  such  glories  !  The 
admixture  of  softness  and  magnificence  made  a  whole  that  they 
had  never  before  beheld  in  any  other  portion  of  the  globe  ;  and 
there  was  not  one  among  them  all  that  did  not,  for  the  mo- 
ment, feel  and  speak  as  if  he  or  she  had  been  suddenly  trans- 
formed to  an  earthly  paradise. 


350  the  crater: 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

u  You  have  said  they  are  men ; 
As  such  their  hearts  are  soiuetlimg.n 

15YKOH. 

The  colony  had  dow  reached  a  point  when  it  became  neces- 

Bary  to  pr ed  with  method  and  caution.     Certain  great  prin 

ciples  were  to  be  established,  «>n  which  the  governor  had  long 
reflected,  and  he  was  fully  prepared  to  Bel  them  up,  and  to  dc- 
fend  them,' thongh  he  knew  that  ideas  prevailed  among  a  few 
of  his  people  which  might  dispose  them  to  cavil  at  his  notions, 
it"  not  absolutely  to  oppose  him.  Men  arc,  fund  of  change  ;  half 
the  time, for  a  reason  no  better  than  that  it  is  change;  and,  not 
(infrequently,  they  permit  this  wayward  feeling  to  unsettle  in- 
terests that  are  of  the  last  importance  to  them,  and  which  find 
no  small  part  of  their  virtue  in  their  permanency. 

Hitherto,  with  Mich  Blight  exceptions  as  existed  in  deference 
to  the  station,  not  to  say  right  of  the  governor,  every  thing  of 
an  agricultural  character  had  been  possessed  in  common  among 
the  colonists.  But  this  was  a  state  of  things  which  the  good 
sense  of  Mark  told  him  could  not,  and  ought  not  to  last.  The 
theories  which  have  come  into  fashion  in  our  own  times,  con- 
cerning the  virtues  of  association,  were  tLen  little  known  and 
less  credited.  Society,  as  it  exists  in  a  legal  form,  is  associa- 
tion enough  for  all  useful  purposes,  and  sometimes  too  much  ; 
and  the  governor  saw  no  use  in  forming  a  wheel  within  a  wheel. 
If  men  have  occasion  for  each  other's  assistance  to  effect  a  par- 
ticular object,  let  them  unite,  in  welcome,  for  that  purpose;  but 
Mark  was  fully  determined  that  there  should  be  but  one  govern- 
ment in  his  land,  and  that  this  government  should  be  of  a 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  351 

character  to  encourage,  and  not  to  depress  exertion.  *  So  long 
as  a  man  toiled  for  himself  and  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  him, 
society  had  a  security  for  his  doing  much  that  would  be  want- 
ing where  the  proceeds  of  the  entire  community  were  to  be 
shared  in  common  ;   and  on  the  knowledge  of  this  simple  and 
obvious  truth  did  our  young  legislator  found   his    theory  of 
government.     Protect  all  in  their  rights  equally,  but,  that  done, 
let  every  man  pursue  his  road  to  happiness  in  his   own  way; 
conceding  no  more  of  his  natural  rights  than  were  necessary  to 
the  great  ends  of  peace,  security,  and  law.     Such  was  Mark's 
theory.     As  for  the  modern  crotchet  that  men  yielded  no  natu- 
ral right  to  government,  but  were  to  receive  all  and  return 
nothing,  the  governor,  in  plain  language,  was  not  fool  enough 
to  believe  it.     He  was  perfectly  aware  that  when  a  man  gives 
authority  to  society  to  compel  him  to  attend  court  as  a  witness, 
f«>r  instance,  he  yields  just  so  much  of  his  natural  rights  to  so- 
ciety as  might  be  necessary  to  empower  him  to   stay  away  if 
he  saw  fit;  and  so  on,  through  the  whole  of  the  very  lono-  cat- 
alogue of  the  claims   which  the  most  indulgent  communities 
make  upon  the  services  of  their  citizens.     Mark  understood  the 
great  desideratum  to  be,  not  the  setting  up  of  theories  to  which 
every  attendant  fact  gives  the  lie,  but  the  ascertaining,  as  near  as 
human  infirmity  will  allow,  the  precise  point  at  which  conces- 
sion to  government  ought  to  terminate,  and  that  of  uncontrolled 
individual  freedom  commence.     He  was  not  visionary  enough 
to  suppose  that  he  was  to  be  the  first  to  make  this  great  discov- 
ery ;  but  he  was  conscious  of  entering  on  the  task  with  the  purest 
intentions.    Our  governor  had  no  relish  for  power  for  power's 
sake,  but  only  wielded  it  for  the  general  good.    By  nature,  he 
was  more  disposed  to  seek  happiness  in  a  very  small  circle,  and 
would  have  been  just  as  well  satisfied  to  let  another  govern  as 
to  rule  himself,  had  there  been  another  suited  to  such  a  station. 
But  there  was  not,     Ilis  own  early  habits  of  command,  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  which  had  first  put  him  in  possession  of 
the  territory,  as  if  it  were  a  special  gift  of  Providence  to  him- 
self, his  past  agency  in  bringing  about  the  actual  state  of  things, 


352  the    crater: 

and  his  property,  which  amounted  to  more  than  that  of  all  the 
rest  of  the  colony  put  together,  contributed  to  give  him  a  title 
and  authority  to  rule,  which  would  have  set  the  claims  of  any 
rival  at  defiance,  bad  Midi  a  person  existed.  But  there  was 
no  rival  ;  not  a  being  present  desiring  to  see  another  in  his 
place. 

The  first  step  of  the  governor  was  to  appoint  his  brother, 
Abraham  Woolston,  the  secretary  of  the  colony.  In  that  age 
America  bad  very  differenl  notions  of  office  and  of  its  dignity, 
of  the  respect  due  to  authority,  and  of  the  men  who  wielded 
it.  from  what  prevail  at  the  present  time.  The  colonists,  com- 
ing  as  they  did  from  America,  brought  with  them  the  notions 
of  the  times,  and  treated  their  superiors  accordingly.  In  the 
la-.t  centurj  a  governor  was  "the  governor,"  ami  not  "otir  gov- 
ernor," and  a  secretary  "the  secretary,"  and  not  "oar  secre- 
tary," men  now  taking  more  liberties  with  what  they  fancy 
their  own,  than  was  their  wonl  with  what  they  believed  bad 
been  set  over  them  for  their  good.  Mr.  Secretary  Woolston 
soon  became  a  personage,  accordingly,  as  did  all  the  other  con- 
siderable funetioiiaries  appointed  by  the  governor. 

The  very  first  act  of  Abraham  Woolston,  on  being  sworn  into 
office,  was  to  make  a  registry  of  the  entire  population.  We 
shall  give  a  synopsis  of  it,  in  order  that  the  reader  may  under- 
stand the  character  of  th"  materials  with  which  the  governor 
had  room  to  work,  viz. : 


Ekm  ai.ks 158 

Adults 121 

Children 87 

Married 101 

Widows 4 


Malbs 147 

Adults 1]8 

Children 34 

Married  101 

Widowers  1 

Seamen 88 

Mechanics 26 

Physician    1 

Student  in  Medicine   1 

Lawyer 1 

Clergyman   1 

Population 305 

Here,  then,  was  a  community  composed   already  of  three 
hundred  and  five  souls.     The  governor's  policy  was  not  to  in- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  353 

crease  this  number  by  further  immigration,  unless  in  special 
cases,  and  then  only  after  due  deliberation  and  inquiry.  Great 
care  had  been  taken  with  the  characters  of  the  present  settlers, 
and  careless  infusions  of  new  members  might  undo  a  great  deal 
of  good  that  had  already  been  done.  This  matter  was  early 
laid  before  the  new  council,  and  the  opinions  of  the  governor 
met  with  a  unanimous  concurrence. 

On  the  subject  of  the  council,  it  may  be  well  to  say  a  word. 
It  was  increased  to  nine,  and  a  new  election  was  made,  the  in- 
cumbents holdiug  their  offices  for  life.  This  last  provision  was 
made  to  prevent  the  "worst  part,  and  the  most  corrupting  in- 
fluence of  politics,  viz.,  the  elections,  from  getting  too  much 
sway  over  the  public  mind.  The  new  council  was  composed  as 
follows,  viz. : 

Messrs.  Heaton, 
Pennock, 
Betts, 

C.  Wooiston, 
A.  Wooiston, 
Charlton, 
Saunders, 
Wilmot,  and 
Warrington. 


V  the  governor's  brothers. 


These  names  belonged  to  the  most  intelligent  men  of  the 
colony,  Betts,  perhaps,  excepted  ;  but  his  claims  were  too  ob- 
vious to  be  slighted.  Betts  had  good  sense,  moreover,  and  a 
I  deal  of  modesty.  All  the  rest  of  the  council  had  more 
<>r  less  claims  to  be  gentlemen,  but  Bob  never  pretended  to  that 
character.  He  knew  his  own  qualifications,  and  did  not  render 
himself  ridiculous  by  aspiring  to  be  more  than  he  really  was; 
still,  his  practical  knowledge  made  him  a  very  useful  member 
of  the  council,  where  his  opinions  were  always  heard  with  at- 
tention and  respect.  Charlton  and  Wilmot  wei  hants, 
and  intended  to  embark  regularly  in  trade  ;  while  Warrii  : 
who  possessed  more  fortune  than  any  of  the  other  colonists,  uu- 
less  it  might  be  the  governor,  called  himself  a  farmer,  though 
he  had  a  respectable  amount  of  general  science,  and  was  well 
read  in  most  of  the  liberal  studies. 


354  the    crater: 

Warrington  was  made  judge,  ■with  a  small  salary,  all  of  whicn 
lie  gave  to  the  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  "White.  This  was  done 
because  he  had  no  need  of  the  money  himself,  and  there  was 
no  other  provision  for  the  parson  than  free  contributions.  John 
Woolston,  who  had  read  law,  was  named  attorney-general,  or 
colony's  attorney,  as  the  office  was  more  modestly  styled;  to 
which  duties  he  added  those  <»t'  Burveyor-general.  Charles  re- 
ceived  his  Balary,  which  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, being 
in  need  of  it.  The  question  of  salary,  as  respects  the  govern- 
or, was  also  settled.  Mark  had  no  occasion  fur  the  money, 
owning  all  the  vessels,  with  most  of  the  cargo  of  the  Rancocus, 
as  well  as  having  broughl  nut  with  him  do  less  a  sum  than  five 
thousand  dollars,  principally  in  change — halves,  quarters,  shil- 
lings, and  sixpences.  Then  a  question  might  well  arise,  wheth- 
er In-  did  not  <>wn  mosl  of  the  stock  ;  a  large  part  of  it  was 
his  beyond  all  dispute,  though  some  douhts  might  exist  as  to  the 
remainder.  On  this  subject  the  governor  came  to  a  most  wise 
■  i.  He  was  fully  aware  that  nothing  was  more  dcmoraliz- 
a  people  than  to  suffer  them  to  get  loose  notions  on  the 
Bubject  of  property.  Property  of  all  kinds,  he  early  deter- 
mined, should  be  most  rigidly  respected,  and  a  decision  that  he 
made  shortly  after  his  return  from  America,  while  acting  in  his 
capacity  of  chief  magistrate,  and  before  the  new  court  went 
into  regular  operation,  was  of  a  character  to  show  how  he  re- 
garded this  matter.     The  case  was  as  follows  : 

Two  of  the  colonists,  Warner  and  Harris,  had  bad  blood  be- 
tween them.  Warner  had  placed  his  family  in  an  arbor  within 
a  grove,  and  to  "aggravate"  him,  Harris  came  and  walked  be- 
fore his  door,  strutting  up  and  down  like  a  turkey-cock,  and  in 
a  way  to  show  that  it  was  intended  to  annoy  Warner.  The 
last  brought  his  complaint  before  the  governor.  On  the  part 
of  Harris,  it  was  contended  that  no  injury  had  been  done  the 
property  of  Harris,  and  that,  consequently,  no  damages  could 
be  claimed.  The  question  of  title  was  conceded,  ex  necessitate 
rcrum.  Governor  Woolston  decided  that  a  man's  rights  in  his 
property  were  not  to  be  limited  by  positive  injuries  to  its  mar- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  355 

kct  value.  Although  no  grass  or  vegetables  had  been  destroyed 
by  Harris  in  his  walks,  he  had  molested  Warner  in  such  an  en- 
joyment of  his  dwelling  as,  in  intendment  of  law,  every  citizen 
was  entitled  to  in  his  possessions.  The  trespass  was  an  aggra- 
vated one,  and  damages  were  given  accordingly.  In  deliver- 
ing his  judgment,  the  governor  took  occasion  to  state,  that  in 
the  administration  of  the  law,  the  rights  of  every  man  would 
be  protected  in  the  fullest  extent,  not  only  as  connected  with 
pecuniary  considerations,  but  as  connected  with  all  those  moral 
uses  and  feelings  which  contribute  to  human  happiness.  This 
decision  met  with  applause,  and  was  undoubtedly  right  in  itself. 
It  was  approved,  because  the  well-intentioned  colonists  had  not 
learned  to  confound  liberty  with  licentiousness,  but  understood 
the  former  to  be  the  protection  of  the  citizen  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  his  innocent  tastes,  enjoyments,  and  personal  rights,  after 
making  such  concessions  to  government  as  are  necessary  to  its 
maintenance.  Thrice  happy  would  it  be  for  all  lands,  whether 
they  are  termed  despotisms  or  democracies,  could  they 
thoroughly  feel  the  justice  of  this  definition,  and  carry  out  its 
intention  in  practice. 

The  council  was  convened  the  day  succeeding  its  election. 
After  a  few  preliminary  matters  were  disposed  of,  the  great 
question  was  laid  before  it,  of  a  division  of  property  and  the 
grant  of  real  estate.  Warrington  and  Charles  Woolston  laid 
down  the  theory,  that  the  fee  of  all  the  land  was,  by  gift  of 
Providence,  in  the  governor,  and  that  his  patent,  or  sign- 
manual,  was  necessary  for  passing  the  title  into  other  hands. 
This  theory  had  an  affinity  to  that  of  the  common  law,  which 
made  the  prince  the  suzerain,  and  rendered  him  the  heir  of  all 
escheated  estates.  But  Mark's  humility,  not  to  say  his  justice, 
met  this  doctrine  on  the  threshold.  He  admitted  the  sover- 
eignty and  its  right,  but  placed  it  in  the  body  of  the  colony, 
instead  of  in  himself.  As  the  party  most  interested  took  this 
view  of  the  case,  they  who  were  disposed  to  regard  his  rights 
as  more  sweeping,  were  fain  to  submit.  The  land  was  there- 
fore declared  to  be  the  property  of  the  state.     Ample  grants, 


P>5G  the    crater: 

however,  were  made  both  to  the  governor  and  Betts,  as  origi- 
nal possessors,  or  discoverers,  and  it  was  held  in  law  that  their 
claims  were  thus  compromised.  The  grants  to  Governor  Wool- 
ston  included  quite  a  thousand  acres  on  the  peak,  which  was 
computed  to  contain  near  thirty  thousand,  and  an  island  of 
about  the  Bame  extent  in  the  group,  which  was  beautifully 
situated  near  it-  centre,  and  less  than  a  league  from  the  crater. 
Betts  had  one  hundred  acres  granted  to  him,  near  the  crater 
also.  He  refused  any  other  grant,  as  a  right  growing  out  of 
original  possession.  Nor  was  his  reasoning  bad  on  the  occasion. 
When  he  was  driven  off,  in  the  Neshamony,  the  reef,  Loam 
Island,  Guano  Island,  and  twenty  or  thirty  rocks,  composed  all 
the  dry  land.  He  had  never  seen  the  peak  until  Mark  was  in 
possession  of  it,  and  had  no  particular  claim  there.  When  the 
council  came  to  make  its  general  grants,  he  was  willing  to  come 
in  for  his  proper  share  with  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  he 
wanted  no  more.  Heaton  had  a  special  grant  of  two  hundred 
acres  made  to  him  on  the  peak,  and  another  in  the  group  of 
equal  extent,  as  a  reward  for  his  early  and  important  services. 
Patents  were  made  out,  at  once,  of  these  several  grants,  under 
the  great  seal  of  the  colony;  for  the  governor  had  provided 
parchment,  and  wax,  and  a  common  seal,  in  anticipation  of 
their  being  all  wanted. 

The  rest*  of  the  grants  of  land  were  made  on  a  general 
principle,  giving  fifty  acres  on  the  peak,  and  one  hundred  in 
the  group,  to  each  male  citizen  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years ;  those  who  had  not  yet  attained  their  majority  being 
compelled  to  wait.  A  survey  was  made,  and  the  different  lots 
were  numbered,  and  registered  by  those  numbers.  Then 
a  lottery  was  made,  each  man's  name  being  put  in  one  box, 
and  the  necessary  numbers  in  another.  The  number  drawn 
against  any  particular  name  was  the  lot  of  the  person  in  ques- 
tion. A  registration  of  the  drawing  was  taken,  and  printed 
patents  were  made  out,  signed,  sealed,  and  issued  to  the  respec- 
tive parties.  "We  say  printed,  a  press  and  types  having  been 
brought  over  in  the  Rancocus,  as  well  as  a  printer.     In  this 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  357 

way,  then,  every  male  of  full  age  was  put  in  possession  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  in  fee. 

As  the  lottery  did  not  regard  the  wishes  of  parties,  many 
private  bargains  were  made,  previously  to  the  issuing  of  the 
patents,  in  order  that  friends  and  connections  might  he  placed 
near  to  each  other.  Some  sold  their  rights,  exchanging  with  a 
difference,  while  others  sold  altogether  on  the  peak,  or  in  the 
group,  willing  to  confine  their  possessions  to  one  or  the  other 
of  these  places.  In  this  manner  Mr.  Warrington,  or  Judge 
Warrington,  as  he  was  now  called,  bought  three  fifty-acre  lots 
adjoining  his  own  share  on  the  peak,  and  sold  his  hundred-acre 
lot  in  the  group.  The  price  established  by  these  original  sales 
would  seem  to  give  a  value  of  ten  dollars  an  acre  to  laud  on 
the  peak,  and  of  three  dollars  an  acre  to  land  in  the  group. 
Some  lots,  however,  had  a  higher  value  than  others,  all  these 
things  being  left  to  be  determined  by  the  estimate  which  the 
colonists  placed  on  their  respective  valuations.  As  every  thing 
was  conducted  on  a  general  and  understood  principle,  and  the 
drawing  was  made  fairly  and  in  public,  there  was  no  discon- 
tent ;  though  some  of  the  lots  were  certainly  a  good  deal  pref- 
erable to  others.  The  greatest  difference  in  value  existed  in 
the  lots  in  the  group,  where  soil  and  water  were  often  wanted  ; 
though,  on  the  whole,  much  more  of  both  was  found  than  had 
been  at  first  expected.  There  were  vast  deposits  of  mud,  and 
others  of  sand,  and  Heaton  early  suggested  the  expediency  of 
mixing  the  two  together,  by  way  of  producing  fertility.  An 
experiment  of  this  nature  had  been  tried,  under  his  orders, 
during  the  absence  of  the  governor,  and  the  result  was  of  the 
most  satisfactory  nature,  the  acre  thus  manured  producing 
abundantly. 

As  it  was  the  sand  that  was  to  be  conveyed  to  the  mud,  the 
toil  was  much  less  than  might  have  been  imagined.  This  sand 
usually  lay  near  the  water,  and  the  numberless  channels  ad- 
mitted of  its  being  transported  in  boats  along  a  vast  reach  of 
shore.  Each  lot  having  a  water  front,  every  man  might 
manure  a  few  acres  by  this  process,  without   any  great    ex- 


^58  the    crater: 

pense  ;  and  no  sooner  were  the  rights  determined,  and  the 
decisions  of  the  parties  made  as  to  their  final  settlements,  than 
many  went  to  work  to  render  the  cracked  and  baked  mud  left 
by  the  retiring  ocean  fertile  and  profitable.  Lighters  were  con- 
structed for  the  purpose,  and  the  colonists  formed  themselves 
into  gangs,  laboring  in  common,  and  transporting  so  many 
loads  of  sand  to  each  levee,  as  the  hanks  were  called,  though 
not  raised  as  on  the  Mississippi,  and  distributing  it  bountifully 
over  the  surface.  The  spade  was  employed  to  mix  the  two 
earths  together. 

Most  of  the  allotments  of  land,  in  the  group,  were  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  reef.  As  there  were  quite  a 
hundred  of  them,  more  than  ten  thousand  acres  of  the  islands 
were  thus  taken  up,  at  the  start  J>\  a  rough  calculation,  how- 
ever, the  group  extended  easl  and  west  sixty-three  miles,  and 
north  and  south  about  fifty — the  reef  being  a  very  little  west 
and  a  very  little  south  of  its  centre.  Of  tlijs  surface  it  was 
thought  something  like  three-fourths' was  dry  land,  or  naked 
rock.  This  would  give  rather  more  than  a  million  and  a  half 
of  acres  of  land  ;  hut,  of  this  great  extent  of  territory,  not  more 
than  two-thirds  could  be  tendered  available  for  the  purposes  of 
husbandry,  for  want  of  soil,  or  the  elements  of  soil.  There 
were  places  where  the  deposits  of  mud  seemed  to  be  of  vast 
depth,  while  in  others  it  did  not  exceed  a  few  inches.  The 
same  was  true  of  the  sands,  though  the  last  was  rarely  of  as 
great  depth  as  the  mud,  or  alluvium. 

A  month  was  consumed  in  making  the  allotments,  and  in 
patting  the  different  proprietors  in  possession  of  their  respective 
estates.  Then,  indeed,  were  the  results  of  the  property  system 
made  apparent.  No  sooner  was-an  individual  put  in  possession 
of  his  deed,  and  told  that  the  lot  it  represented  was  absolutely 
his  own,  to  do  what  he  pleased  with  it,  than  he  went  to  work 
with  energy,  and  filled  with  hopes  to  turn  his  new  domains  to 
account.  It  is  true  that  education  and  intelligence,  if  they  will 
only  acquit  themselves  of  their  tasks  with  disinterested  probity, 
may  enlighten  and  instruct  the  ignorant  how  to  turn  their 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  -     359 

means  to  account ;  but  all  experience  proves  that  each  individu- 
al usually  takes  the  best  care  of  his  own  interests,  and  that  the 
system  is  wisest  which  grants  to  him  the  amplest  opportunity 
so  to  do. 

To  work  all  went,  the  men  forming  themselves  into  gangs, 
and  aiding  each  other.  The  want  of  horses  and  neat  cattle  was 
much  felt,  more  especially  as  Heaton's  experience  set  every  one 
at  the  sand,  as  the  first  step  in  a  profitable  husbandry  :  wheel- 
barrows, however,  were  made  use  of  instead  of  carts,  and  it  was 
found  that  a  dozen  pairs  of  hands  could  do  a  good  deal  with 
that  utensil,  in  the  course  of  a  day.  All  sorts  of  contrivances 
were  resorted  to  in  order  to  transport  the  sand,  but  the  gov- 
ernor established  a  regular  system,  by  which  the  lighter  should 
deliver  one  load  at  each  farm,  in  succession.  By  the  end  of  a 
month  it  was  found  that  a  good  deal  had  been  done,  the  dis- 
tances being  short,  and  the  other  facilities  constantly  increasing 
by  the  accession  of  new  boats. 

All  sorts  of  habitations  were  invented.  The  scarcity  of  wood 
in  the  group  was  a  serious  evil,  and  it  was  found  indispens 
to  import  that  material.  Part  of  Raucocus  Island  was  well 
wooded,  there  growing,  among  other  trees,  a  quantity  of  noble 
yellow  pines.  Bigelow  was  sent  across  in  the  Abraham  to  set 
up  a  mill,  and  to  cut  lumber.  There  being  plenty  of  water- 
power,  the  mill  was  soon  got  at  work,  and  a  lot  of  excellent 
plank,  boards,  etc.,  were  shipped  in  the  schooner  for  the  crater. 
Shingle-makers  were  also  employed,  the  cedar  abounding,  as 
well  as  the  pine.  The  transportation  to  the  coast  was  the  point 
of  difficulty  on  Rancocus  Island  as  well  as  elsewhere ;  none  of 
the  cattle  being  yet  old  enough  to  be  used.  Socrates  had  three 
pairs  of  yearling  steers,  and  one  of  two  years  old,  breaking,  but 
it  was  too  soon  to  set  either  at  work.  With  the  last,  a  little 
very  light  labor  was  done,  but  it  was  more  to  train  the  animals 
than  with  any  other  object. 

On  Rancocus  Island,  however,  Bigelow  made  a  very  inge- 
nious canal,  that  was  of  vast  service  in  floating  logs  to  the  mill. 
The  dam  made  a  long,  narrow  pond,  that  penetrated  two  or  three 


300    -  *  the    crater: 

miles  up  a  gorge  in  the  mountains,  and  into  this  dam  the  logs 
were  rolled  down  the  declivities.  When  cut  into  lumber,  it 
was  found  that  the  stream  below  the  mill  would  carry  small 
rafts  down  to  the  sea. 

While  all  these  projects  were  in  the  course  of  operation,  the 
governor  did  not  forget  the  high  interests  connected  with  his 
foreign  relations,  Waally  was  to  be  looked  to,  and  Ooroony's 
son  to  be  righted.  The  council  was  unanimously  of  opinion 
that  sound  policy  required  such  an  exhibition  of  force  on  the 
part  of  the  colony,  as  should  make  a  lasting  impression  on  their 
turbulenl  neighbors.  An  expedition  was  accordingly  fitted  out, 
iu  which  the  Mermaid,  the  Abraham,  and  a  new  pilot-boat- 
built  Bchooner,  of  fifty  tons  burden,  were  employed.  This  new 
schooner  was  nearbj  ready  for  launching  when  the  Rancocus  re- 
turned, and  was  pul  into  the  water  for  the  occasion.  She  had 
been  laid  down  in  the  cove,  where  Bigclow  had  found  room  for 
a  sufficient  yard,  and  where  timber  was  nearer  at  hand  than  on 
the  reef.  As  Rancocus  Island  supplied  the  most  accessible  and 
the  best  lumber,  the  council  had  determined  to  make  a  perma- 
nent establishment  on  it,  for  the  double  purposes  of  occupation 
and  building  vessels.  As  the  resources  of  that  island  were  de- 
veloped, it  was  found  important  on  other  accounts,  also.  Ex- 
cellent clay  for  bricks  was  found,  as  was  limestone  in  endless 
quantities.  For  the  purposes  of  agriculture  the  place  was 
nearly  useless,  there  not  being  one  thousand  acres  of  good  ara- 
ble laud  in  the  whole  island  ;  but  the  mountains  were  perfect 
mines  of  treasure  in  the  way  of  necessary  supplies  of  the  sorts 
mentioned. 

A  brick-yard  was  immediately  cleared  and  formed,  and  a 
lime-kiln  constructed.  Among  the  colonists,  it  was  easy  to 
find  men  accustomed  to  work  in  all  these  familiar  branches. 
The  American  can  usually  turn  his  hand  to  a  dozen  different 
pursuits ;  and  though  he  may  not  absolutely  reach  perfection 
in  either,  he  is  commonly  found  useful  and  reasonably  expert 
in  all.  Before  the  governor  sailed  on  his  expedition  against 
Waally,  a  brick-kiln  and  a  lime-kiln  were  nearly  built,  and  a 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  361 

vast  quantity  of  lumber  had  been  carried  over  to  the  reef.  As 
sandal-wood  had  been  collecting  for  the  twelve  months  of  hei 
late  absence,  the  Rancocus  had  also  been  filled  up,  and  had 
taken  in  a  new  cargo  for  Canton.  It  was  not  the  intention  of 
the  governor  to  command  his  ship  this  voyage  ;  but  he  gave 
her  to  Saunders,  who  was  every  way  competent  to  the  trust. 
"When  all  was  ready,  the  Rancocus,  the  Mermaid,  the  Abraham, 
and  the  Anne,  as  the  new  pilot-boat  schooner  was  called,  sailed 
for  Betto's  group  ;  it  being  a  part  of  the  governor's  plan  to  use 
the  ship,  in  passing,  with  a  view  to  intimidate  his  enemies.  In 
consequence  of  the  revolution  that  had  put  Waally  up  again, 
every  one  of  the  Kannakas  who  had  gone  out  in  the  Rancocus 
on  her  last  voyage,  refused  to  go  home,  knowing  that  they 
would  at  once  be  impressed  into  Waally' s  service  ;  and  they 
all  now  cheerfully  shipped  anew,  for  a  second  voyage  to  foreign 
lands.  By  this  time,  these  men  were  very  useful ;  and  the 
governor  had  a  project  for  bringing  up  a  number  of  the  lads  of 
the  islands,  and  of  making  use  of  them  in  the  public  service. 
This  scheme  was  connected  with  his  contemplated  success,  and 
formed  no  small  part  of  the  policy  of  the  day. 

The  appearance  of  so  formidable  a  force  as  was  now  brought 
against  Waally,  reduced  that  turbulent  chief  to  terms  without 
a  battle.  About  twenty  of  his  canoes  had  got  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  fleet  in  a  squall,  while  returning  from  the  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  on  the  reef,  and  they  were  never  heard  of  more  ; 
or  if  heard  of,  it  was  in  uncertain  rumors,  which  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  arrival  of  three  or  four  canoes  at  some  islands  a 
long  way  to  leeward,  with  a  handful  of  half-starved  warriors  on 
board.  It  is  supposed  that  all  the  rest  perished  at  sea.  This 
disaster  had  rendered  Waally  unpopular  among  the  friends  of 
those  who  were  lost ;  and  that  unpopularity  was  heightened  by 
the  want  of  success  in  the  expedition  itself.  Success  is  all  in 
all  with  the  common  mind  ;  and  we  daily  see  the  vulgar  shout- 
ing at  the  heels  of  those  whom  they  are  ready  to  crucify  at  the 
first  turn  of  fortune.  In  this  good  land  of  ours,  popularity  adds 
t<>  it-  more  worthless  properties  the  substantial  result  of  power ; 
16 


382  the    crater: 

and  it  is  not  surprising  that  so  many  forget  their  God  in  the 
endeavor  to  court  the  people.  In  time,  however,  all  of  these 
persons  of  mistaken  ambition  come  to  exclaim,  with  Shaks- 
peare's  Wolsey — 

"Had  I  but  served  my  God  with  half  the  zeal 
I  served  my  king,  he  would  not  in  mioo  age 
Have  left  me  naked  to  mine  enemies." 

Waally's  power,  already  tottering  through  the  influence  of 
evil  fortune,  crumbled  entirely  before  the  force  Governor  Wool- 
ston  now  brought  aerainsl  it.  Although  the  latter  had  but 
forty  whites  with  him,  they  came  in  ships,  and  provided  with 
cannon ;  and  not  a  chief  dreamed  of  standing  by  the  offender, 
in  this  his  hour  of  Deed.  Waally  had  the  tact  to  comprehend 
his  situation,  and  the  wisdom  to  submit  to  his  fortune.  He 
sent  a  messenger  to  the  governor  with  a  palm-branch,  offering 
to  restore  young  Ooroony  to  all  his  father's  authority,  and  to 
confine  himself  to  his  strictly  inherited  dominions.  Such,  in 
fact,  was  the  basis  of  the  treaty  that  was  uow  made,  though 
hostages  were  taken  for  its  fulfilment.  To  each  condition 
Waally  consented  ;  and  every  thing  was  settled  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  whites,  and  to  the  honor  and  credit  of  young 
Ooroony.  The  result  was,  in  substance,  as  we  shall  now 
record. 

In  the  first  place,  one  hundred  lads  were  selected  and  hand- 
ed over  to  the  governor,  as  so  many  apprentices  to  the  sea. 
These  young  Kannakas  were  so  many  hostages  for  the  good 
behavior  of  their  parents  ;  while  the  parents,  always  within 
reach  of  the  power  of  the  colonists,  were  so  many  hostages  for 
the  good  behavior  of  the  Kannakas.  Touching  the  last,  how- 
ever, the  governor  had  very  few  misgivings,  since  he  believed 
it  very  possible  so  to  treat,  and  so  to  train  them,  as  to  make 
them  fast  friends.  In  placing  them  on  board  the  different  ves- 
sels, therefore,  rigid  instructions  were  given  to  their  officers  to 
be  kind  to  these  youngsters  ;  and  each  and  all  were  to  be 
taught  to  read,  and  instructed  in  the  Christian  religion.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Hornblower  took  great  interest  in  this  last  arrange- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  363 

ment,  as  did  half  the  females  of  the  colony.  Justice  and  kind 
treatment,  in  fact,  produced  their  usual  results  in  the  cases  of 
these  hundred  youths,  every  one  of  whom  got  to  be,  in  the 
end,  far  more  attached  to  the  reef  and  its  customs,  than  to  their 
own  islands  and  their  original  habits.  The  sea,  no  doubt,-  con- 
tributed its  share  to  this  process  of  civilization ;  for  it  is  ever 
found  that  the  man  who  gets  a  thorough  taste  for  that  element, 
is  loth  to  quit  it  again  for  terra  firma. 

One  hundred  able-bodied  men  were  added  to  the  recruits 
that  the  governor  obtained  in  Betto's  group.  They  were  taken 
as  hired  laborers,  and  not  as  hostages.  Beads  and  old  iron 
were  to  be  their  pay,  with  fish-hooks,  and  such  other  trifles  as 
had  a  value  in  their  eyes ;  and  their  engagement  was  limited  to 
two  months.  There  was  a  disposition  among  a  few  of  the 
colonists  to  make  slaves  of  these  men,  and  to  work  their  lands 
by  means  of  a  physical  force  obtained  in  Betto's  group  ;  but 
to  this  scheme  the  council  would  not  lend  itself  for  a  moment. 
The  governor  well  knew  that  the  usefulness,  virtue,  and  moral 
condition  of  his  people  depended  on  their  being  employed, 
and  he  had  no  wish  to  undermine  the  permanent  prosperity  of 
the  colony,  by  resorting  to  an  expedient  that  might  do  well 
enough  for  a  short  time,  but  which  would  certainly  bring  its 
own  punishment  in  the  end. 

Still,  an  accession  of  physical  force,  properly  directed,  would 
be  of  great  use  in  this  early  age  of  the  colony.  The  laborers 
were  accordingly  engaged ;  but  this  was  done  by  the  govern- 
ment, which  not  only  took  the  control  of  the  men,  but  which 
also  engaged  to  see  them  paid  the  promised  remuneration.  An- 
other good  was  also  anticipated  from  this  arrangement.  The  two 
groups  must  exist  as  friends  or  as  enemies.  So  long  as  young 
Ooroony  reigned,  it  was  thought  there  would  be  little  difficulty 
in  maintaining  amicable  relations ;  and  it  was  hoped  that  the 
intercourse  created  by  this  arrangement,  aided  by  the  trade  in 
sandal-wood,  might  have  the  effect  to  bind  the  natives  to  the 
whites  by  the  tie  of  interest 

The  vessels  lay  at  Betto's  group  a  fortnight,  completing  all 


364  the    crater: 

the  arrangements  made  ;  though  the  Rancocus  sailed  on  her 
voyage  as  soon  as  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  agreed  on, 
and  the  Anne  was  scut  back  to  the  reef  with  the  news  that  the 
war  had  terminated.  As  for  Waally,  he  was  obliged  to  place, 
his  favorite  son  in  the  hands  of  young  Ooroony,  who  held  the 
youthful  chief  as  a  hostage  for  his  father's  good  behavior. 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  3G5 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"Thou  shalt  seek  the  beach  of  sand 
Where  the  water  bounds  the  elfin  land ; 
Thou  shalt  watch  the  oozy  brine 
Till  the  sturgeon  leaps  in  the  bright  moonshine, 
Then  dart  the  glistening  arch  below, 
And  catch  a  drop  from  his  silver  bow ; 
The  water-sprites  will  wield  their  arms, 
And  dash  around,  with  roar  and  rave, 
And  vain  are  the  woodland  spirit's  charms, 

They  are  the  imps  that  rule  the  wave. 
Yet  trust  thee  in  thy  single  might ; 
If  thy  heart  be  pure,  and  thy  spirit  right, 
Thou  shalt  win  the  warlike  fight." 

Deake. 

A  twelvemonth  passed,  after  the  return  of  the  expedition 
against  Betto's  group,  without  the  occurrence  of  any  one  very 
marked  event.  Within  that  time,  Bridget  made  Mark  the 
father  of  a  fine  boy,  and  Anne  bore  her  fourth  child  to  Heaton. 
The  propagation  of  the  human  species,  indeed,  flourished  mar- 
vellously, no  less  than  seventy-eight  children  having  been  born 
in  the  course  of  that  single  year.  There  were  a  few  deaths — 
only  one  among  the  adults,  the  result  of  an  accident — the  health 
of  the  colony  having  been  excellent.  An  enumeration,  made 
near  the  close  of  the  year,  showed  a  total  of  three  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  souls,  including  those  absent  in  the  Rancocus,  and 
excluding  the  Kannakas. 

As  for  these  Kannakas,  the  results  of  their  employment  quite 
equalled  the  governor's  expectations.  They  would  not  labor 
like  civilized  men,  it  is  true,  nor  was  it  easy  to  make  them  use 
tools ;  but  at  lifts,  and  drags,  and  heavy  work,  they  could  be, 
and  were,  made  to  do  a  vast  deal.  The  first  great  object  of  the 
governor  had  been  to  get  his  people  all  comfortably  housed,  be- 


366  the    crater: 

neath  good  roofs,  and  out  of  the  way  of  the  rains.  Fortunately 
there  were  no  decayed  vegetable  substances  in  the  group,  to  pro- 
duce fevers  ;  and  £  '  long  as  the  person  could  be  kept  dry,  there 
was  little  danger  to  the  health. 

Four  sorts  or  classes  of  houses  were  erected,  each  man  be- 
ing left  to  choose  for  himself,  with  the  understanding  that  he  was 
to  receive  a  certain  amount  in  value  from  the  commonwealth,  by 
contribution  in  labor  or  in  materials.  All  beyond  that  amount 
was  to  be  paid  for.  To  equalize  advantages,  a  tariff  was  estab- 
lished, as  to  the  value  of  labor  and  materials.  These  materials 
consisted  of  lumber,  including  shingles,  stone,  lime,  and  bricks — 
bricks  burned,  as  well  as  those  which  were  unburned,  or. 
adobe.  Nails  were  also  delivered  from  the  public  store,  free  of 
charge. 

Of  course,  no  one,  at  first,  thought  of  building  very  largely. 
Small  kitchens  were  all  that  were  got  up,  at  the  commencement, 
and  they  varied  in  size,  according  to  the  means  of  their  owners, 
as  much  as  they  differed  in  materials.  Some  built  of  wood  ; 
some  of  stones ;  some  of  regular  bricks ;  and  some  of  adobe. 
All  did  very  well,  but  the  stone  was  found  to  be  much  the  pref- 
erable material,  especially  where  the  plastering  within  was 
furred  off  from  the  walls.  These  stones  came  from  Rancocus 
Island,  where  they  were  found  in  inexhaustible  quantities,  par- 
taking of  the  character  of  tufa.  The  largest  of  them  were  land- 
ed at  the  reef,  the  loading  and  unloading  being  principally  done 
by  the  Kannakas,  while  the  smallest  were  delivered  at  different 
points  along  the  channel,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the  owners 
of  the  land.  More  than  a  hundred  dwellings  were  erected  in 
the  course  of  the  few  months  immediately  succeeding  the  arri- 
val of  the  immigrants.  About  half  were  on  the  peak,  and  the  re- 
mainder wrere  in  the  group.  It  is  true,  no  one  of  all  these  dwell- 
ings was  large ;  but  each  was  comfortable,  and  fully  answered 
the  purpose  of  protection  against  the  rain.  A  roof  of  cedar 
shingles  was  tight,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and,  what  was* more, 
it  was  lasting.  Some  of  the  buildings  were  sided  with  these 
shingles,  though  clap-boards  were  commonly  used  for  that  pur- 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  867 

pose.  The  adobe  answered  very  well  when  securely  roofed, 
though  it  was  thought  the  unburnt  brick  absorbed  more  mois- 
ture than  the  brick  which  had  been  burned. 

The  largest  of  all  the  private  dwellings  thus  erected  was 
thirty  feet  square,  and  the  smallest  was  fifteen.  The  last  had 
its  cooking  apartment  under  a  shed,  however,  detached  from 
the  house.  Most  of  the  ovens  were  thus  placed  ;  and  in  many 
instances  the  chimneys  stood  entirely  without  the  buildings, 
even  when  they  were  attached  to  them.  There  was  but  one 
house  of  two  stories,  and  that  was  John  Pennock's,  who  had 
sufficient  means  to  construct  such  a  building.  .  As  for  the  gov- 
ernor, he  did  not  commence  building  at  all  until  nearly  every 
one  else  was  through,  when  he  laid  the  corner-stones  of  two 
habitations ;  one  on  the  peak,  which  was  his  private  property, 
standing  on  his  estate,  and  the  other  on  the  reef,  which  was 
strictly  intended  to  be  a  government,  or  Colony  House.  The 
first  was  of  brick,  and  the  last  of  stone,  and  of  great  solidity, 
being  intended  as  a  sort  of  fortress.  The  private  dwelling  was 
only  a  story  and  a  half  high,  but  large  on  the  ground  for  that 
region,  measuring  sixty  feet  square.  The  government  building 
was  much  larger,  measuring  two  hundred  feet  in  length  by 
sixty  feet  in  depth.  This  spacious  edifice,  however,  was  not 
altogether  intended  for  a  dwelling  for  the  governor,  but  was  so 
arranged  as  to  contain  great  quantities  of  public  property  in  its 
basement,  and  to  accommodate  the  courts  and  all  the  public 
offices  on  the  first  floor.  It  had  an  upper  story,  but  that  was 
left  unfinished  and  untenanted  for  years,  though  fitted  with 
arrangements  for  defence.  Fortunately,  cellars  were  little 
wanted  in  that  climate,  for  it  was  not  easy  to  have  one  in  the 
group.  It  is  true,  that  Pennock  caused  one  to  be  blown  out 
with  gunpowder,  under  his  dwelling,  though  every  one  proph- 
esied that  it  would  soon  be  full  of  water.  It  proved  to  be 
dry,  notwithstanding;  and  a  very  good  cellar  it  was,  being 
exceedingly  useful  against  the  heats,  though  of  cold  there  was 
none  to  guard  against. 

The  Colony  House  stood  directly  opposite  to  the  drawbridge, 


368  the    crater: 

being  placed  there  for  the  purposes  of  defence,  as  well  as  to 
have  access  to  the  spring.  A  want  of  water  was  rather  an  evil 
on  the  reef;  not  that  the  sands  did  not  furnish  an  ample  supply, 
and  that  of  the  most  delicious  quality,  but  it  had  to  be  carried 
to  inconvenient  distances.  In  general,  water  was  found  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  and  in  suitable  places  among  the  group;  but 
at  the  reef,  there  was  certainly  this  difficulty  to  contend  with. 
As  the  governor  caused  his  brother,  the  surveyor-general,  to 
lay  out  a  town  on  the  reef,  it  was  early  deemed  necessary  to 
make  some  provision  against  this  evil.  A  suitable  place  was 
selected,  and  a  cistern  was  blown  out  of  the  roclc,  into  which 
all  the  water  that  fell  on  the  roof  of  Colony  House  was  led. 
This  reservoir,  when  full,  contained  many  thousand  gallons  ; 
and  when  once  full,  it  was  found  that  the  rains  were  sufficient  to 
prevent  its  being  very  easily  emptied. 

But  the  greatest  improvement  that  was  made  on  the  reef, 
after  all,  was  in  the  way  of  soil.  As  for  the  crater,  that,  by 
this  time,  was  a  mass  of  verdure,  among  which  a  thousand  trees 
were  not  only  growing,  but  flourishing.  This  was  true  of  its 
plain,  as  of  its  mounds  ;  and  of  its  mounds,  as  of  its  plain.  But 
the  crater  was  composed  of  materials  very  different  from  the 
base  of  the  reef.  The  former  wras  of  tufa,  so  far  as  it  was  rock 
at  all ;  while  the  latter  was,  in  the  main,  pure  lava.  Never- 
theless, something  like  a  soil  began  to  form  even  on  the  reef, 
purely  by  the  accessions  caused  through  its  use  by  man.  Great 
attention  was  paid  to  collecting  every  thing  that  could  con- 
tribute to  the  formation  of  earth,  in  piles  ;  and  these  piles  were 
regularly  removed  to  such  cavities,  or  inequalities  in  the  sur- 
face of  the  rock,  as  would  be  most  likely  to  retain  their  mate- 
rials when  spread.  In  this  way  many  green  patches  had  been 
formed,  and,  in  a  good  many  instances,  trees  had  been  set  out 
in  spots  where  it  was  believed  they  could  find  sufficient  nourish- 
ment. But  no  sooner  had  the  governor  decided  to  build  on 
the  reef,  and  to  make  his  capital  there,  than  he  set  about  em- 
bellishing the  place  systematically.  Whenever  a  suitable  place 
could   be   found,    in    what    was   intended   for   Colony   Hou^e 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  3G9 

grounds,  a  space  of  some  ten  acres  in  the  rear  of  the  building, 
he  put  in  the  drill,  and  blew  out  rock.  The  fragments  of  stone 
were  used  about  the  building;  and  the  place  soon  presented  a 
ragged,  broken  surface,  of  which  one  might  well  despair  of 
making  any  thing.  By  perseverance,  however,  and  still  more 
by  skill  and  judgment,  the  whole  area  was  lowered  more  than 
a  foot,  and  in  many  places,  where  nature  assisted  the  work,  it 
was  lowered  several  feet.  It  was  a  disputed  question,  indeed, 
whether  stone  for  the  building  could  not  be  obtained  here,  by 
blasting,  cheaper  and  easier  than  by  transporting  it  from  Ean- 
cocus  Island.  Enough  was  procured  in  this  way  not  only  to 
construct  the  building,  but  to  enclose  the  grounds  with  a  suffi  ■ 
cient  wall.  When  all  was  got  off  that  was  wanted,  boat-loads 
of  mud  and  sand  were  brought  by  Kannakas,  and  deposited  in 
the  cavity.  This  was  a  great  work  for  such  a  community, 
though  it  proceeded  faster  than,  at  first,  one  might  have  sup- 
posed. The  materials  were  very  accessible,  and  the  distances 
short,  which  greatly  facilitated  the  labor,  though  unloading  was 
a  task  of  some  gravity.  The  walls  of  the  house  were  got  up  in 
about  six  months  after  the  work  was  commenced,  and  the  build- 
ing was  roofed  ;  but  though  the  gardeners  were  set  to  work  as 
soon  as  the  stones  were  out  of  the  cavities,  they  had  not  filled 
more  than  two  acres  at  the  end  of  the  period  mentioned. 

Determined  to  make  an  end  of  this  great  work  at  once,  the 
Abraham  was  sent  over  to  young  Ooroony  to  ask  for  assistance. 
Glad  enough  was  that  chief  to  grant  what  was  demanded  of 
him,  and  he  came  himself,  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  men,  to 
aid  his  friend  in  finishing  this  task.  ■  Even  this  strong  body  of 
laborers  was  busy  two  months  longer,  before  the  governor  pro- 
nounced the  great  end  accomplished.  Then  he  dismissed  his 
neighbors  with  such  gifts  and  pay  as  sent  away  everybody  con- 
tented. Many  persons  thought  the  experiment  of  bringing  so 
many  savages  to  the  reef  somewhat  hazardous ;  but  no  harm 
ever  came  of  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  intercourse  had  a  good 
effect,  by  making  the  two  people,  better  acquainted  with  each 
other.  The  governor  had  a  great  faculty  in  the  management 
16* 


.'570 


THE      CRATER 


of  those  wild  beings.  He  not  only  kept  them  in  good  humor, 
but,  what  was  far  more  difficult,  he  made  them  work.  They 
were  converted  into  a  sort  of  Irish  for  his  colony.  It  is  true, 
one  civilized  man  could  do  more  than  three  of  the  Kannakas,  but 
the  number  of  the  last  was  so  large  that  they  accomplished  a 
great  deal  during  their  stay. 

Nor  would  the  governor  have  ventured  to  let  such  dangerous 
neighbors  into  the  group,  had  there  not  been  still  more  impos- 
ing mysteries  connected  with  the  peak,  into  which  they  weie 
not  initiated.  Even  young  Ooroony  was  kept  in  ignorance  of 
what  was  to  be  found  on  that  dreaded  island.  He  saw  vessels 
going  and  coming,  knew  that  the  governor  often  went  there,  saw 
strange  faces  appearing  occasionally  on  the  reef,  that  were  un- 
derstood to  belong  to  the  unknown  land,  and  probably  to  a 
people  who  were  much  more  powerful  than  those  who  were  in 
direct  communication  with  the  natives. 

The  governor  induced  his  Kanakas  to  work  by  interesting 
them  in  the  explosions  of  the  blasts,  merely  to  enjoy  the  pleas- 
ure of  seeing  a  cart-load  of  rock  torn  from  its  bed.  One  of 
these  men  would  work  at  a  drill  all  day,  and  then  carry  off  the 
fragments  to  be  placed  in  the  walls,  after  he  had  had  his 
sport  in  this  operation  of  blasting.  They  seemed  never  to  tire 
of  the  fun,  and  it  was  greatly  questioned  if  half  as  much  la- 
bor could  have  been  got  out  of  them  at  any  other  work  as 
at  this. 

A  good  -deal  of  attention  was  paid  to  rendering  the  soil  of  the 
colony  garden  fertile,  as  well  as  deep.  In  its  shallowest  places 
it  exceeded  a  foot  in  depth,  and  in  the  deepest,  spots  where 
natural  fissures  had  aided  the  drill,  it  required  four  or  five  feet 
of  materials  to  form  the  level.  These  deep  places  were  all 
marked,  and  were  reserved  for  the  support  of  trees.  Not  only 
was  sand  freely  mixed  with  the  mud,  or  muck,  but  sea-weed  in 
large  quantities  was  laid  near  the  surface,  and  finally  covered 
with  the  soil.  In  this  manner  was  a  foundation  made  that 
could  not  fail  to  sustain  a  garden  luxuriant  in  its  products,  aided 
by  the  genial  heat  and  plentiful  rains  of  the  climate.     Shrubs, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  371 

flowers,  grass,  and  ornamental  trees,  however,  were  all  the  gov- 
ernor aimed  at  in  these  public  grounds ;  the  plain  of  the  crater 
furnishing  fruit  and  vegetables  in  abundance,  as  yet  far  exceed- 
ing the  wants  of  the  whole  colony.  The  great  danger,  indeed, 
that  the  governor  most  apprehended,  was  that  the  beneficent 
products  of  the  region  would  render  his  people  indolent ;  an 
idle  nation  becoming,  almost  infallibly,  vicious  as  well  as  igno- 
rant. It  was  with  a  view  to  keep  the  colony  on  the  advance, 
and  to  maintain  a  spirit  of  improvement,  that  so  much  attention 
was  so  early  bestowed  on  what  might  otherwise  be  regarded 
as  purely  intellectual  pursuits,  which,  by  creating  new  wants, 
might  induce  their  subjects  to  devise  the  means  of  supplying 
them. 

The  governor  judged  right;  for  tastes  are  commonly  ac- 
quired by  imitation,  and  when  thus  acquired,  they  take  the 
strongest  hold  of  those  who  cultivate  them.  The  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  colony  garden,  or  public  grounds,  was  such  as 
twenty-fold  to  return  the  cost  and  labor  bestowed  on  it.  The 
sight  of  such  an  improvement  set  both  men  and  women  to 
work  throughout  the  group,  and  not  a  dwelling  was  erected  in 
the  town,  that  the  drill  did  not  open  the  rock,  and  mud  and 
sand  form  a  garden.  Nor  did  the  governor  himself  confine  his 
horticultural  improvements  to  the  gardens  mentioned.  Before 
he  sent  away  his  legion  of  five  hundred,  several  hundred  blasts 
were  made  in  isolated  spots  on  the  reef;  places  where  the 
natural  formation  favored  such  a  project;  and  holes  were  formed 
that  would  receive  a  boat-load  of  soil  each.  In  these  places 
trees  were  set  out,  principally  cocoa-nuts,  and  such  other  plants 
as  were  natural  to  the  situation,  due  care  being  taken  to  see  that 
each  had  sufficient  nourishment. 

The  result  of  all  this  industry  was  to  produce  a  great  change 
in  the  state  of  things  at  the  reef.  In  addition  to  the  buildings 
erected,  and  to  the  gardens  made  and  planted,  within  the  town 
itself,  the  whole  surface  of  the  island  was  more  or  less  altered. 
Verdure  soon  made  its  appearance  in  places  where,  hitherto, 
nothing  but  naked  rock  had  been  seen,  and  trees  began  to  cast 


372 


THE      CRATER 


their  shades  over  the  young  and  delicious  grasses.  As  for  the 
town  itself,  it  was  certainly  no  great  matter,  containing  about 
twenty  dwellings,  and  otherwise  being  of  very  modest  preten- 
sions. Those  who  dwelt  there  were  principally  such  mechanics 
as  found  it  convenient  to  be  at  the  centre  of  the  settlement, 
some  half  a  dozen  persons  employed  about  the  warehouses  of 
the  merchants,  a  few  officials  of  the  government,  and  the  fami- 
lies of  those  who  depended  mainly  on  the  sea  for  their  sup- 
port. Each  and  all  of  these  heads  of  families  had  drawn  their 
lots,  both  in  the  group  and  on  the  peak,  though  some  sold  their 
rights,  the  better  to  get  a  good  start  in  their  particular  occupa- 
tions. The  merchants,  however,  established  themselves  on  the 
reef,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  each  causing  a  warehouse  to  be 
constructed  near  the  water,  with  tackles  and  all  the  usual  con- 
veniences for  taking  in  and  delivering  goods.  Each,  also,  had 
his  dwelling  near  at  hand.  As  these  persons  had  come  well 
provided  for  the  Indian  trade  in  particular,  having  large 
stocks  of  such  cheap  and  coarse  articles  as  took  with  the  na- 
tives, they  were  already  driving  a  profitable  business,  receiv- 
ing considerable  epiantities  of  sandal-wood  in  exchange  for  their 
goods. 

It  is  worthy  of  being  mentioned,  that  the  governor  and 
council  early  passed  a  sort  of  navigation  act,  the  effect  of 
which  was  to  secure  the  carrying  trade  to  the  colony.  The 
motive,  however,  was  more  to  keep  the  natives  within  safe 
limits,  than  to  monopolize  the  profits  of  the  seas.  By  the  pro- 
visions of  this  law,  no  canoe  could  pass  from  Betto's  group  to 
either  of  the  islands  of  the  colony,  without  express  permission 
from  the  governor.  In  order  to  carry  on  the  trade,  the  parties 
met  on  specified  days  at  Ooroony's  village,  and  there  made 
their  exchanges  ;  vessels  being  sent  from  the  reef  to  bring 
away  the  sandal-wood.  With  a  view  to  the  final  transportation 
of  the  last  to  a  market,  Saunders  had  been  instructed  to  pur- 
chase a  suitable  vessel,  which  was  to  return  with  the  Rancocus, 
freighted  with  such  heavy  and  cheap  implements  as  were  most 
wanted  in  the  colony,  including  cows  and  mares  in  particular. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  373 

Physical  force,  in  the  shape  of  domestic  animals,  was  greatly 
wanted  ;  and  it  was  perhaps  the  most  costly  of  all  the  suppliea 
introduced  into  the  settlements.  Of  horned  cattle  there  were 
already  about  five-and-twenty  head  in  the  colony — enough  to 
make  sure  of  the  hreed — but  they  were  either  cows,  steers  too 
young  to  be  yet  of  much  use,  or  calves.  Nothing  was  killed, 
of  course  ;  but  so  much  time  must  pass  before  the  increase 
would  give  the  succor  wanted,  that  the  governor  went  to 
unusual  expense  and  trouble  to  make  additions  to  the  herd  from 
abroad. 

As  for  the  horses,  but  three  had  been  brought  over,  two  of 
which  were  mares.  The  last  had  foaled  twice  ;  and  there  were 
four  colts,  all  doing  well,  but  wanting  age  to  be  useful.  All 
the  stock  of  this  character  was  kept  on  the  peak,  in  order  to 
secure  it  from  invaders ;  and  the  old  animals,  even  to  the 
cows,  were  lightly  worked  there,  doing  a  vast  deal  that  would 
otherwise  remain  undone.  It  was  so  obviously  advantageous  to 
increase  the  amount  of  this  sort  of  force,  that  Saunders  had 
strict  orders  to  purchase  the  vessel  mentioned,  and  to  bring 
over  as  many  beasts  as  he  could  c >n veniently  and  safely  stow. 
With  this  object  in  view,  he  was  directed  to  call  in,  on  the 
western  side  of  Cape  Horn,  and  to  make  his  purchases  in 
South  America.  The  horned  cattle  might  not  be.  so  good, 
coming  from  such  a  quarter,  but  the  dangers  of  doubling  the 
cape  would  be  avoided. 

While  making  these  general  and  desultory  statements  touch- 
ing the  progress  of  the  colony,  it  may  be  well  to  say  a  word  of 
Rancocus  Island.  The  establishments  necessary  there,  to  carry 
on  the  mills,  lime  and  brick  kilns,  and  the  stone- quarry,  induced 
the  governor  to  erect  a  small  work,  in  which  the  persons  em- 
ployed in  that  out-colony  might  take  refuge  in  the  event  of  an 
invasion.  This  was  done  accordingly  ;  and  two  pieces  of  artil- 
lery were  regularly  mounted  on  it.  Nor  was  the  duty  of  forti- 
fying neglected  elsewhere.  As  for  the  peak,  it  was  not  deemed 
necessary  to  do  more  than  improve  a  little  upon  nature ;  the 
colony  being  now  too  numerous  to  suppose  that  it  could  not  de- 


374  the    crater: 

fend  the  cove  against  any  enemy  likely  to  land  there,  shoulr 
the  entrance  of  that  secret  haven  he  detected.  On  the  reef, 
however,  it  was  a  very  different  matter;  that  place  was  as  acces- 
sible as  the  other  was  secure.  The  construction  of  so  many 
stout  stone  edifices  contributed  largely  to  the  defence  of  the 
town  ;  hut  the  governor  saw  the  necessity  of  providing  the 
means  of  commanding  the  approaches  by  water.  Four  distinct 
passages,  each  corresponding  to  a  cardinal  point  of  the  compass, 
led  from  the  crater  oul  to  sea.  As  the  south  passage  terminated 
at  the  bridge,  it  was  sufficiently  commanded  by  the  Colony 
House.  But  all  the  others  were  wider,  more  easy  of  approach, 
and  less  under  the  control  of  the  adjacent  islands.  But  the 
Summit  had  points  whence  each  might  he  raked  by  guns  prop- 
erly planted,  and  batteries  were  accordingly  constructed  on 
these  points;  the  twelve-pounder  being  used  for  their  arma- 
ments. Each  battery  had  two  guns;  and,  when  all  was  com- 
pleted, it  was  the  opinion  of  the  governor  that  the  post  was  suf- 
ficiently well  fortified.  In  order,  however,  to  give  additional 
security,  the  crater  was  tabooed  to  all  the  Ivannakas;  not  one 
of  whom  was  permitted  ever  to  enter  it,  or  even  to  go  near  it. 
But  defence,  and  building,  and  making  soil,  did' not  altogeth- 
er occupy  the  attention  of  the  colonists  during  these  important 
twelve  months.  Both  the  brothers  of  the  governor  got  mar- 
ried ;  the  eldest,  or  the  attorney-general,  to  the  eldest  sister  of 
John  Pennoek,  and  the  youngest  to  a  sister  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hornblower.  It  was  in  this  simple  colony  as  it  ever  has  been, 
and  ever  will  be  in  civilized  society,  that,  in  forming  matrimo- 
nial connections,  like  looks  for  like.  There  was  no  person  or 
family  at  the  reef  which  could  be  said  to  belong  to  the  highest 
social  class  of  America,  if,  indeed,  any  one  could  rank  as  high 
as  a  class  immediately  next  to  the  highest ;  yet  distinctions 
existed  which  were  maintained  usefully,  and  without  a  thought 
of  doing  them  away.  The  notion  that  money  alone  makes 
those  divisions  into  castes  which  are  everywhere  to  be  found, 
and  which  will  probably  continue  to  be  found  as  long  as  society 
itself  exists,  is  a  verv  vulgar  and  fallacious  notion.     It  comes 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  375 

from  the  difficulty  of  appreciating  those  tastes  and  qualities 
which,  not  possessing  ourselves,  are  so  many  unknown  and  mys- 
terious influences.  In  marrying  Sarah  Pennock,  John  Wool- 
ston  was  slightly  conscious  of  making  a  little  sacrifice  in  these 
particulars;  but  she  was  a  very  pretty,  modest  girl,  of  a 
suitable  age,  and  the  circle  to  choose  from,  it  will  be  remember- 
ed, was  very  limited.  In  America  that  connection  might  not 
have  taken  place ;  but  at  the  crater  it  was  all  well  enough,  and 
it  turned  out  to  be  a  very  happy  union.  Had  the  sacrifice  of 
habits  and  tastes  been  greater,  this  might  not  have  been  the 
fact,  for  it  is  certain  that  our  happiness  depends  more  on  the 
subordinate  qualities  and  our  cherished  usages,  than  on  princi- 
ples themselves.  It  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  any  refined 
woman,  for  instance,  can  ever  thoroughly  overcome  her  disgust 
for  a  man  who  habitually  blows  his  nose  with  his  fingers,  or 
that  one  bred  a  gentleman  can  absolutely  overlook,  even  in  a 
wife,  the  want  of  the  thousand  and  one  little  lady-like  habits, 
which  render  the  sex,  perhaps,  more  attractive  than  do  their 
personal  charms. 

Several  other  marriages  took  place,  the  scarcity  of  subjects 
making  it  somewhat  hazardous  to  delay  :  when  Hobson's  choice 
is  placed  before  one,  deliberation  is  of  no  great  use.  It  was 
generally  understood  that  the  Rancocus  was  to  bring  out  very 
few  immigrants,  though  permission  had  been  granted  to  Captain 
Saunders  to  take  letters  to  certain  friends  of  some  already  set- 
tled in  the  colony,  with  the  understanding  that  those  friends 
were  to  be  received,  should  they  determine  to  come.  That 
point,  however,  was  soon  to  be  decided,  for  just  a  year  and  one 
week  after  the  Rancocus  had  sailed  from  Betto's  group,  the 
news  reached  the  reef  that  the  good  ship  was  coming  into  the 
northern  roads,  and  preparing  to  anchor.  The  governor  imme- 
diately went  on  board  the  Anne,  taking  Betts  with  him,  and 
made  sail  for  the  point  in  question,  with  a  view  to  bring  the 
vessel  through  the  passage  to  the  reef.  The  governor  and  Betta 
were  the  only  two  who,  as  it  was  believed,  could  carry  so  large 
a  vessel  through;  though  later  soundings  showed  it  was  only 


376  the    crater: 

necessary  to  keep  clear  of  the  points  and  the  shores,  in  order  to 
bring  in  a  craft  of  any  draught  of  water.   • 

When  the  Anne  ran  out  into  the  roads,  there  she  found  tho 
Rancocus  at  anchor,  sure  enough.  On  ncaring  her,  Captain 
Saunders  appeared  on  her  poop,  and  in  answer  to  a  hail,  gave 
the  welcome  answer  of  "  all  well."  These  comprehensive 
words  removed  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  from  the  mind  of  the 
governor ;  absence  being,  in  one  sense,  the  parent  of  uncertainty, 
and  uncertainty  of  uneasiness.  Every  thing  about  the  ship, 
however,  looked  well,  and  to  the  surprise  of  those  in  the  Anne, 
many  heads  belonging  to  others  besides  the  crew  were  to  be 
seen  above  the  rani.  A  sail  was  in  sight,  moreover,  standing 
in,  and  this  vessel,  Captain  Saunders  stated,  was  the  brig  Henlo- 
pen,  purchased  on  government  account,  and  loaded  with  stock 
and  other  property  for  the  colony. 

On  going  on  board  the  Rancocus  it  was  ascertained  that,  jn 
all,  one  hundred  and  eleven  new  immigrants  had  been  brought 
out !  The  circle  of  the  affections  had  been  set  at  work,  and 
one  friend  had  induced  another  to  enter  into  the  adventure, 
until  it  was  found  that  less  than  the  number  mentioned  could 
not  be  gotten  rid  of.  That  which  could  not  be  cured  was  to 
be  endured,  and  the  governor's  dissatisfaction  was  a  good  deal 
appeased  when  he  learned  that  the  new-comers  were  of  excel- 
lent materials ;  being,  without  exception,  young,  healthful, 
moral,  and  all  possessed  of  more  or  less  substance,  in  the  way 
of  worldly  goods.  This  accession  to  the  colony  brought  its 
population  up  to  rather  more  than  five  hundred  souls,  of  which 
number,  however,  near  a  hundred  and  fifty  were  children,  or 
under  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 

Glad  enough  were  the  new-comers  to  land  at  a  little  settle- 
ment which  had  been  made  on  the  island  which  lay  abreast  of 
the  roads,  and  where,  indeed,  there  was  a  very  convenient  har- 
bor, did  vessels  choose  to  use  it.  The  roads,  however,  had 
excellent  anchorage,  and  were  perfectly  protected  against  the 
prevailing  winds  of  that  region.  Only  once,  indeed,  since  the 
place  was  inhabited,  had   the  wiud   been  known  to   blow  on 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  377 

shore  at  that  point ;  and  then  only  during  a  brief  squall.  Iu 
general,  the  place  was  every  way  favorable  for  the  arrival  and 
departure  of  shipping,  the  trades  making  a  leading  breeze  both 
in  going  and  coming — as,  indeed,  they  did  all  the  way  to  and 
from  the  reef.  A  long-headed  immigrant,  of  the  name  of  Dunks, 
had  foceseen  the  probable  future  importance  of  this  outer  har- 
bor, and  had  made  such  an  arrangement  with  the  council,  as 
to  obtain  leave  for  himself  and  three  or  four  of  his  connections 
to  exchange  the  land  they  had  drawn,  against  an  equal  quantity 
in  this  part  of  the  group.  The  arrangement  was  made,  and 
this  little,  out-lying  colony  had  now  been  established  an  entire 
season.  As  the  spot  was  a  good  deal  exposed  to  an  invasion, 
a  stone  dwelling  had  been  erected,  that  was  capable  of  accom- 
modating the  whole  party,  and  pickets  were  placed  around  it 
in  such  a  way  as  to  prove  an  ample  defence  against  any  attempt 
to  carry  the  work  by  assault.  The  governor  had  lent  them  a 
field-piece,  and  it  was  thought  the  whole  disposition  was  favor- 
able to  the  security  of  the  colony,  since  no  less  than  eleven 
combatants  could  be  mustered  here  to  repel  invasion. 

The  immigrants,  as  usual,  found  every  thing  charming,  when 
their  feet  touched  terra  firma.  The  crops  did  look  well,  and 
the  island  being  covered  with  mud,  the  sand  had  done  wonders 
for  the  vegetation.  It  is  true  that  trees  were  wanting,  though 
the  pickets,  or  palisades,  being  of  willow,  had  all  sprouted, 
and  promised  soon  to  close  the  dwelling  in  a  oTove.  Some 
fifty  acres  had  been  tilled,  more  or  less  thoroughlv,  and  timo- 
thy was  already  growing  that  was  breast-high.  Clover  looked 
well,  ton,  as  did  every  thing  else  ;  the  guano  having  lost  none 
of  its  virtue  since  the  late  arrivals. 

The  governor  sent  back  the  Anne,  with  instructions  to  pre- 
pare room  for  the  immigrants  in  the  government  dwelling, 
which,  luckily,  was  large  enough  to  receive  them  all.  He  wait- 
ed with  the  Rancocus,  however,  for  the  Henlopen  to  come  in 
and  anchor,  lie  then  went  on  board  this  brig,  and  took  a  look 
at  the  stock.  Saunders,  a  discreet,  sensible  man,  so  well  under- 
lie importance  of.  adding  to  the  physical  force  of  the 


378  the    crater: 

colony,  in  the  way  of  brutes,  that  he  had  even  strained  the  point 
to  bring  as  many  mares  and  cows  as  he  could  stow.  He  had 
put  on  board  twenty-five  of  the  last,  and  twenty  of  the  first ; 
all  purchased  at  Valparaiso.  The  weather  had  been  so  mild 
that  no  injury  had  happened  to  the  beasts,  but  the  length  of  the 
passage  had  so  far  exhausted  the  supplies,  that  not  a  mouthful 
of  food  had  the  poor  animals  tasted  for  the  twenty-four  hours 
before  they  got  in.  The  water,  too,  was  scarce,  and  any  thing 
hut  sweet.  For  a  month  every  thing  had  been  on  short  allow- 
ance,  and  the  suffering  creatures  must  have  been  enchanted  to 
smell  the  land.  Smell  it  they  certainly  did  ;  for  such  a  lowing, 
and  neighing,  and  fretting  did  they  keep  up,  when  the  governor 
got  alongside  of  the  brig,  that  he  could  not  endure  the  sight  of 
their  misery,  but  determined  at  once  to  relieve  it. 

The  brig  was  anchored  within  two  hundred  yards  of  a  fine, 
sandy  beach,  on  which  there  were  several  runs  of  delicious 
water,  and  which  communicated  directly  with  a  meadow  of 
grass,  as  high  as  a  man's  breast.  A  bargain  was  soon  made  with 
Dunks;  and  the  two  crews,  that  of  the  Rancocus  as  well  as  that 
of  the  brig,  were  set  to  work  without  delay  to  hoist  out  every 
creature  having  a  hoof  that  was  on  board  the  Ilenlopen.  As 
slings  were  all  ready,  little  delay  was  necessary,  but  a  mare  soon 
rose  through  the  hatchway,  was  swung  over  the  vessel's  side, 
and  was  lowered  into  the  water.  A  very  simple  contrivance 
released  the  creature  from  the  slings,  and  off  it  swam,  making 
the  best  of  its  way  toward  the  land.  In  three  minutes  the  poor 
thing  was  on  the  beach,  though  actually  staggering  from  weak- 
ness, and  from  long  use  to  the  motion  of  the  vessel.  The  water 
was  its  first  aim.  Dunks  was  there,  however,  to  prevent  it  from 
drinking  too  much,  when  it  made  its  w*ay  up  to  the  grass,  which 
it  began  to  eat  ravenously.  All  the  rest  went  through  the  same* 
process,  and  in  a  couple  of  hours  the  poor  things  were  relieved 
from  their  misery,  and  the  brig,  which  smelled  like  a  stable,  was 
well  quit  of  them.  Brooms  and  water  were  set  to  work  imme- 
diately, but  it  was  a  month  before  the  Ilenlopen  lost  the  pecu- 
liar odor  of  cattle. 


ok,    vulcan's    peak.  •       3*79 

Nor  were  the  human  beings  much  less  rejoiced  to  go  ashoro 
than  the  brutes.  Dunks  gave  them  all  a  hearty  welcome,  and 
though  he  had  little  fruit  to  offer,  he  had  plenty  of  vegetables, 
for  which  they  were  quite  as  thankful.  Melons,  however,  he 
could  and  did  give  them,  and  the  human  part  of  the  cargo  had 
an  ample  feast  on  a  sort  of  food  to  which  they  had  now  so  long 
been  strangers.  The  horses  and  cows  were  left  on  Dunks'  island, 
where  they  stayed  until  word  was  sent  to  the  governor  that  they 
had  eaten  down  all  his  grass,  and  would  soon  be  on  allowance 
again,  unless  taken  away.  Means,  however,  were  soon  found 
to  relieve  him  of  the  stock,  though  his  meadows,  or  pastures 
rather,  having  been  seldom  cut  in  that  climate,  were  much  im- 
proved by  the  visit  paid  them.  As  for  the  animals,  they  were 
parcelled  out  among  the  different  farms,  thus  giving  a  little  milk 
and  a  little  additional  force  to  each  neighborhood.  Fowls  and 
pigs  had  been  distributed  some  time  previously,  so  that  not  a 
man  in  the  group  was  without  his  breeding  sow  and  his  brood 
of  young  chickens.  These  were  species  of  stock  that  increased 
so  rapidly,  that  a  little  care  alone  was  wanting  to  make  eggs  and 
pork  plenty.  Corn,  or  maize,  grew  just  for  the  planting ;  though 
it  was  all  the  better,  certainly,  for  a  little  care. 

After  sufficient  time  had  been  allowed  to  make  the  necessary 
preparations,  the  vessels  sailed  with  the  immigrants  for  the  reef. 
There  was  many  a  glad  meeting  between  friends  and  relatives. 
Those  who  had  just  arrived  had  a  great  deal  to  tell  those  who 
had  preceded  them  by  eighteen  months ;  and  those  who  now 
considered  themselves  old  settlers,  entertained  the  new  ones 
with  the  wonders  of  their  novel  situations. 


380  the    crater: 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"Welter  upon  the  waters,  mighty  one — 
And  stretch  thee  in  the  ocean's  trough  of  brine, 
Turn  thy  wet  scales  up  to  the  wind  and  sun, 
And  toss  the  billow  from  thy  flashing  fin; 
Heave  thy  deep  breathing  to  the  ocean's  din, 
And  bound  upon  its  ridges  in  thy  pride, 
Or  dive  down  to  its  lowest  depths,  and  in 
The  caverns  whore  its  unknown  monsters  hide, 
Measure  thy  length  beneath  the  gulf-stream's  tide." 

Bkainaed's  Sea-Serpent. 

The  colony  had  now  reached  a  point  when  its  policy  must 
have  an  eye  to  its  future  destinies.  If  it  were  intended  to 
push  it,  like  a  new  settlement,  a  very  different  course  ought  to 
be  pursued  from  the  one  hitherto  adopted.  But  the  governor 
and  council  entertained  more  moderate  views.  They  under- 
stood their  real  position  better.  It  was  true  that  the  peak,  in 
one  sense,  or  in  that  which  related  to  soil  and  products,  was 
now  in  a  condition  to  receive  immigrants  as  fast  as  they  could 
come,  but  the  peak  had  its  limits,  and  it  could  hold  but  a 
very  circumscribed  number.  As  to  the  group,  land  had  to  be 
formed  for  the  reception  of  the  husbandman,  little  more  than 
the  elements  of  soil  existing  over  so  much  of  its  surface.  Then 
in  the  way  of  trade,  there  could  not  be  any  very  great  induce- 
ment for  adventurers  to  come,  since  the  sandal-wood  was  the 
only  article  possessed  which  would  command  a  price,  in  a 
foreign  market.  This  sandal-wood,  moreover,  did  not  belong 
to  the  colony,  but  to  a  people  who  might,  at  any  moment, 
become  hostile,  and  who  already  began  to  complain  that  the 
article  was  getting  to  be  very  scarce.  Under  all  the  circum- 
stances, therefore,  it  was  not  deemed  desirable  to  add  to  the 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  381 

population  of  the  place  faster  than  would  now  he  done  by  nat 
ural  means. 

The  cargoes  of  the  two  vessels  just  arrived  were  divided  be 
twecn  the  state  and  the  governor,  by  a  very  just  process.  The 
governor  had  one-half  the  proceeds  for  his  own  private  use,  as 
owner  of  the  Rancocus,  without  which  vessel  nothing  could 
have  been  done  ;  while  the  state  received  the  other  moiety,  in 
virtue  of  the  labor  of  its  citizens,  as  well  as  in  that  of  its  right 
to  impose  duties  on  imports  and  exports.  Of  the  portion  which 
went  to  the  state,  certain  parts  were  equally  divided  between 
the  colonists,  for  immediate  use,  while  other  parts  of  the  cargo 
were  placed  in  store,  and  held  as  a  stock,  to  be  drawn  upon  as 
occasion  might  arise. 

The  voyage,  like  most  adventures  in  sandal-wood,  teas,  etc.. 
in  that  day,  had  been  exceedingly  advantageous,  and  produced 
a  most  beneficent  influence  on  the  fortunes  and  comforts  of  the 
settlement.  A  well-selected  cargo  of  the  coarse,  low-priced 
articles  most  needed  in  such  a  colony,  could  easily  have  been 
purchased  with  far  less  than  the  proceeds  of  the  cargo  of  tea 
that  had  been  obtained  at  Canton,  in  exchange  for  the  sandal- 
wood carried  out;  and  Saunders,  accordingly,  had  filled  the 
holds  of  both  vessels  with  such  articles,  besides  bringing  home 
with  him  a  considerable  amount  in  specie,  half  of  which  went 
into  the  public  coffers,  and  half  into  the  private  purse  of  Gover- 
nor Woolston.  Money  had  been  in  circulation  in  the  colony 
for  the  last  twelve  months  ;  though  a  good  deal  of  caution  was 
used  in  suffering  it  to  pass  from  hand  to  hand.  The  disposition 
was  to  hoard  ;  but  this  fresh  arrival  of  specie  gave  a  certain  de- 
gree of  confidence,  and  the  silver  circulated  a  great  deal  more 
freely  after  it  was  known  that  so  considerable  an  amount  had 
been  brought  in. 

It  would  scarcely  be  in  our  power  to  enumerate  the  articles 
that  were  received  by  these  arrivals  ;  they  included  every  thing 
in  common  use  among  civilized  men,  from  a  grindstone  to  a 
cart.  Groceries,  too,  had  been  brought  in  reasonable  quanti- 
ties, including  teas,    sugars,    etc.  ;  though  these  articles  were 


382  the    crater: 

not  so  much  considered  necessaries  in  America  fifty  years  ago 
as  they  are  to-day.  The  groceries  of  the  state,  as  well  as  many 
other  articles,  were  put  into  the  hands  of  the  merchants,  who 
either  purchased  them  out  and  out,  to  dispose  of  at  retail,  or 
who  took  them  on  commission  with  the  same  object.  From 
this  time,  therefore,  regular  shops  existed,  there  being  three  on 
the  reef  and  one  on  the  peak,  where  nearly  every  thing  in  use 
could  be  bought,  «and  that,  too,  at  prices  that  were  far  from 
being' exorbitant.  The  absence  of  import  duties  had  a  great 
influence  on  the  cost  of  things,  the  state  getting  its  receipts  in 
kind,  directly  through  the  labor  of  its  citizens,  instead  of  look- 
ing  to  a  custom-house  in  quest  of  its  share  for  the  general 
prosperity. 

At  that  time  very  little  was  written  about  the  great  fallacy  of 
the  present  day — free  trade — which  is  an  illusion  about  which 
men  now  talk,  and  dispute,  and  almost  fight,  while  no  living 
mortal  can  tell  what  it  really  is.  It  is  wise  for  us  in  America, 
who  never  had  any  thing  but  free  trade,  according  to  modern 
doctrines,  to  look  a  little  closely  into  the  sophisms  that  are  get- 
ting to  be  so  much  in  vogue,  ami  which,  whenever  they  come 
from  our  illustrious  ancestors  in  Great  Britain,  have  some  such 
effect  on  the  imaginations  of  a  portion  of  our  people,  as  purling 
rills  and  wooded  cascades  are  known  to  possess  over  those  of 
certain  young  ladies  of  fifteen. 

Free  trade,  in  its  true  signification,  or  in  the  only  signification 
which  is  not  a  fallacy,  can  only  mean  a  commerce  that  is  totally 
unfettered  by  duties,  restrictions,  prohibitions,  and  charges  of 
all  sorts.  Except  among  savages,  the  world  never  yet  saw  such 
a  state  of  things,  and  probably  never  will.  Even  free  trade 
ports  have  exactions  that,  in  a  degree,  counteract  their  pretend- 
ed principle  of  liberty ;  and  no  free  port  exists,  that  is  any 
thing  more,  in  a  strict  interpretation  of  its  uses,  than  a  sort  of  a 
bonded  warehouse.  So  long  as  your  goods  remain  there,  on 
deposit  and  unappropriated,  they  are  not  taxed;  but  the  instant 
they  are  taken  to  the  consumer,  the  customary  impositions  must 
be  paid. 


or,    vcjlcan's    peak.  383 

Freer  trade — that  is,  a  trade  which  is  less  encumbered  than 
some  admitted  state  of  things  which  previously  existed — is 
easily  enough  comprehended  ;  but,  instead  of  conveying  to  the 
mind  any  general  theory,  it  merely  shows  that  a  lack  of  wisdom 
may  h;ivc  prevailed  in  the  management  of  some  particular  inter- 
est ;  which  lack  of  wisdom  is  now  being  tardily  repaired.  Pro- 
hibitions, whether  direct  or  in  the  form  of  impositions  that  the 
trade  will  not  bear,  may  be  removed  without  leaving  trade  free. 
This  or  that  article  may  be  thrown  open  to  the  general  compe- 
tition, without  import  duty  or  tax  of  any  sort,  and  yet  the  great 
bulk  of  the  commerce  of  a  country  be  so  fettered  as  to  put  an 
effectual  check  upon  any  thing  like  liberal  intercourse.  Sup- 
pose, for  instance,  that  Virginia  were  an  independent  country. 
Its  exports  would  be  tobacco,  flour,  and  corn  ;  the  tobacco  crop 
probably  more  than  equalling  in  value  those  portions  of  the 
other  crops  which  are  sent  out  of  the  country.  England  is  suf- 
fering for  food,  and  she  takes  off  every  thing  like  imposts  on 
the  eatables,  while  she  taxes  tobacco  to  the  amount  of  many 
hundred  per  cent.     Can  that  be  called  free  trade  ? 

There  is  another  point  of  view  in  which  we  could  wish  to 
protest  against  the  shouts  and  fallacies  of  the  hour.  Trade,  per- 
haps the  most  corrupt  and  corrupting  influence  of  life — or,  if 
second  to  any  thing  in  evil,  second  only  to  politics— is  pro- 
claimed to  be  the  great  means  of  humanizing,  enlightening,  lib- 
eralizing, and  improving  the  human  race !  Now,  against  this 
monstrous  mistake  in  morals,  we  would  fain  raise  our  feeble 
voices  in  sober  remonstrance.  That  the  intercourse,  which  is  a 
consequence  of  commerce,  may,  in  certain  ways,  liberalize  a 
man's  views,  we  arc  willing  to  admit;  though,  at  the  same 
time,  we  shall  insist  that  there  are  better  modes  of  attaining  the 
same  ends.  But  it  strikes  us  as  profane  to  ascribe  to  this  frail 
and  mercenary  influence  a  power  which  there  is  every  reason  to 
b  ilieve  the  Almighty  has  bestowed  on  the  Christian  church,  and 
on  that  alone — a  church  which  is  opposed  to  most  of  the  prac- 
tices of  trade,  which  rebukes  them  in  nearly  every  line  of  its 
precepts,  and  which,  carried  out  in  its  purity,  can  alone  give 


384  the    crater: 

the  world  that  liberty  and  happiness  which  a  grasping  spirit 
of  cupidity  is  so  ready  to  impute  to  the  desire  to  accumulate 
gold ! 

Fortunately,  there  was  little  occasion  to  dispute  about  the 
theories  of  commerce  at  the  reef.  The  little  trade  that  did 
exist  was  truly  unfettered ;  but  no  one  supposed  that  any  man 
was  nearer  to  God  on  that  account,  except  as  he  was  further 
removed  from  temptations  to  do  wrong.  Still,  the  governing 
principle  was  sound  ;  not  by  canting  about  the  beneficent  and 
holy  influences  of  commerce,  but  by  leaving  to  each  man  his 
individuality,  or  restraining  it  only  on  those  points  which  the 
public  good  demanded.  Instead  of  monopolizing  the  trade  of 
the  colony,  which  his  superior  wealth  and  official  power  would 
Lave  rendered  very  easy,  Governor  Woolston  acted  in  the  most 
liberal  spirit  to  all  around  him.  With  the  exception  of  the 
Anne,  which  was  built  by  the  colony,  the  council  hail  decided, 
in  some  measure  contrary  to  his  wishes,  though  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  what  was  right,  that  all  the  vessels  were  the  private 
property  of  Mark.  After  this  decision,  the  governor  formally 
conveyed  the  Mermaid  and  the  Abraham  to  the  state  ;  the  for- 
mer to  be  retained  principally  as  a  cruiser  and  a  packet,  while 
the  last  was  in  daily  use  as  a  means  of  conveying  articles  and 
passengers  from  one  island  to  the  other.  The  Neshamony  was 
presented,  out  and  out,  to  "Betts,  who  turned  many  a  penny  with 
her,  by  keeping  her  running  through  the  different  passages,  with 
freight,  etc.,  going  from  plantation  to  plantation,  as  these  good 
people  were  in  the  practice  of  calling  their  farms.  Indeed,  Bob 
did  little  else,  until  the  governor,  seeing  his  propensity  to  stick 
by  the  water,  and  ascertaining  that  the  intercourse  would  justify 
such  an  investment,  determined  to  build  him  a  sloop,  in  order 
that  he  might  use  her  as  a  sort  of  packet  and  market  boat 
united.  A  vessel  of  about  forty-five  tons  was  laid  down  accord- 
ingly, and  put  into  the  water  at  the  end  of  six  months,  that 
was  just  the  sort  of  craft  suited  to  Bob's  wishes  and  wants.  In 
the  meantime,  the  honest  fellow  had  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
council,  feeling  that  he  was  out  of  his  place  in  such  a  body, 


or,    vulcan's    pe'ak,  385 

among  men  of  more  or  less  education,  and  of  habits  so  much 
superior  and  more  refined  than  his  own.  Mark  did  not  oppose 
this  step  in  his  friend,  but  rather  encouraged  it;  being  persuad- 
ed nothing  was  gained  by  forcing  upon  a  man  duties  he  was 
hardly  fitted  to  discharge.  Self-made  men,  he  well  knew,  were 
sometimes  very  useful ;  but  he  also  knew  that  they  must  be  first 
made. 

The  name  of  this  new  sloop  was  the  Martha,  being  thus  called 
in  compliment  to  her  owner's  sober-minded,  industrious,  and 
careful  wife.  She  (the  sloop,  and  not  Mrs.  Betts)  was  nearly 
all  cabin,  having  lockers  forward  and  aft,  and  was  fitted  with 
benches  in  her  wings,  steamboat  fashion.  Her  canvas  was  of 
light  duck,  there  being  very  little  heavy  weather  in  that  climate ; 
so  that  assisted  by  a  boy  and  a  Kaunaka,  honest  Bob  could  do 
any  thing  he  wished  with  his  craft.  He  often  went  to  the  peak 
and  Rancocus  Island  in  her,  always  doing  something  useful ; 
and  he  even  made  several  trips  in  hei',  within  the  first  few 
months  he  had  her  running,  as  far  as  Betto's  group.  On  these 
last  voyages,  he  carried  over  Kannakas  as  passengers,  as  well  as 
various  small  articles,  such  as  fish-hooks,  old  iron,  hatchets 
even,  and  now  and  then  a  little  tobacco.  These  he  exchanged 
for  cocoa-nuts,  which  were  yet  scarce  in  the  colony,  on  account 
of  the  number  of  mouths  to  consume  them  ;  baskets ;  Indian 
cloth ;  paddles,  which  the  islanders  made  very  beautifully  and 
with  a  great  deal  of  care  ;  bread-fruit,  and  other  plants  that 
abounded  more  at  Betto's  group  than  at  the  reef,  or  even  on 
the  peak. 

But  the  greatest  voyage  Betts  made  that  season  was  when  he 
took  a  freight  of  melons.  This  was  a  fruit  which  now  abounded 
in  the  colony;  so  much  so  as  to  be  fed  even  to  the  hogs,  while 
the  natives  knew  nothing  of  it  beyond  the  art  of  eating  it. 
They  were  extraordinarily  fond  of  melons,  and  Bob  actually 
filled  the  cabin  of  the  Martha  with  articles  obtained  in  exchange 
for  his  cargo.  Among  other  things  obtained  on  this  occasion, 
was  a  sufficiency  of  sandal-wood  to  purchase  for  the  owner  of 
the  sloop  as  many  groceries  as  he  could  consume  in  his  family 
17 


;j86  the    crater: 

for  twelve  months ;  though  groceries  were  high,  as  may  well  be 
supposed,  in  a  place  like  the  reef.  Betts  always  admitted  that 
the  first  great  turn  in  his  fortune  was  the  money  made  on  this 
voyage,  in  which  he  embarked  without  the  least  apprehension 
of  Waally,  and  his  never-ceasing  wiles  and  intrigues.  Indeed, 
most  of  his  sales  were  made  to  that  subtle  and  active  chief,  who 
dealt  very  fairly  by  him. 

All  this  time  the  Rancocus  was  laid  up  for  want  of  something 
to  freight  her  with.  At  one  time  the  governor  thought  of  send- 
ing her  to  pick  up  a  cargo  where  she  could ;  but  a  suggestion 
by  a  seaman  of  the  name  of  Walker  set  him  on  a  different 
track,  and  put  on  foot  an  adventure  which  soon  attracted  the 
attention  of  most  of  the  sea-faring  portion  of  the  community. 

It  had  been  observed  by  the  crew  of  the  Rancocus,  not  only 
in  her  original  run  through  those  seas,  but  in  her  two  sub- 
sequent passages  from  America,  that  the  spermaceti  whale 
abounded  in  all  that  part  of  the  ocean  which  lay  to  windward 
of  the  group.  Now  Walker  had  once  been  second  officer  of  a 
Nantucket  craft,  and  was  regularly  brought  up  to  the  business 
of  taking  whales.  Among  the  colonists  were  half  a  dozen  others 
who  had  done  more  or  less  at  the  same  business;  and,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Walker,  who  had  gone  out  in  the  Rancocus  as 
her  first  officer,  Captain  Saunders  laid  in  a  provision  of  such  arti- 
cles as  were  necessary  to  set  up  the  business.  These  consisted 
of  cordage,  harpoons,  spades,  lances,  and  casks.  Then  no 
small  part  of  the  lower  hold  of  the  Henlopen  was  stowed  with 
shook  casks ;  iron  for  hoops,  etc.,  being  also  provided. 

As  the  sandal-wood  was  now  obtained  in  only  small  quanti- 
ties, all  idea  of  sending  the  ship  to  Canton  again,  that  year,  was 
necessarily  abandoned.  At  first  this  seemed  to  be  a  great  loss  ; 
but  when  the  governor  came  to  reflect  coolly  on  the  subject, 
not  only  he,  but  the  council  generally,  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  Providence  was  dealing  more  mercifully  with  them,  by 
turning  the  people  into  this  new  channel  of  commerce,  than  to 
leave  them  to  pursue  their  original  track.  Sandal-wood  had  a 
purely  adventitious   value,    though  it  brought,   particularly  in 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  387 

that  age,  a  most  enormous  profit ;  one  so  large,  indeed,  as  to 
have  a  direct  and  quick  tendency  to  demoralize  those  embarked 
in  the  trade.  The  whaling  business,  on  the  other  hand,  while 
it  made  large  returns,  demanded  industry,  courage,  perseverance, 
and  a  fair  amount  of  capital.  Of  vessels,  the  colonists  had  all 
they  wanted  ;  the  forethought  of  Saunders  and  the  suggestions 
of  Walker  furnished  the  particular  means ;  and  of  provisions 
there  was  now  a  superabundance  in  the  group. 

It  was  exceedingly  fortunate  that  such  an  occupation  offered 
to  interest  and  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  the  colonists.  Man  must 
have  something  to  do— some  main  object  to  live  for— or  he  is 
apt  to  degenerate  in  his  ambition,  and  to  fall  off  in  his  prog- 
ress. No  sooner  was  it  announced  that  whales  were  to  be 
taken,  however,  than  even  the  women  became  alive  to  the  re- 
sults of  the  enterprise.  This  feeling  was  kept  up  by  the  gover- 
nor's letting  it  be  officially  known  that  each  colonist  should 
have  one  share,  or  "  lay,"  as  it  was  termed,  in  the  expected 
cargo  ;  which  share,  or  "  lay,"  was  to  be  paid  for  in  provisions: 
Those  actually  engaged  in  the  business  had  as  many  "  lays"  as 
it  was  thought  they  could  earn  ;  the  colony  in  its  collected 
capacity  had  a  certain  number  more,  in  return  for  articles  re- 
ceived from  the  public  stores;  and  the  governor,  as  owner  of 
the  vessels  employed,  received  one-fifth  of  the  whole  cargo,  or 
cargoes.  This  last  was  a  very  small  return  for  the  amount  of . 
capital  employed;  and  it  was  so  understood  by  those  who 
reaped  the  advantages  of  the  owner's  liberality. 

The  Kancocus  was  not  fitted  out  as  a  whaler,  but  was  reserved 
as  a  warehouse  to  receive  the  oil,  to  store  it  until  a  cargo  was 
collected,  and  then  was  to  be  used  as  a  means  to  convey  it  to 
America.  For  this  purpose  she  was  stripped,  had  her  rigging 
thoroughly  overhauled,  was  cleaned  out  and  smoked  for°rats, 
and  otherwise  was  prepared  for  service.  While  in  this  state', 
she  lay  alongside  of  the  natural  quay,  near  and  opposite  to  some 
extensive  sheds  which  had  been  erected  as  a  protection  against 
the  heats  of  the  climate. 

The  Henlopen,  a  compact  clump  of  a  brL;,  that  was  roomy 


r,3S  the    crater: 

on  deck,  and  had  stout  masts  and  good  rigging,  was  fitted  out 
for  the  whaler  ;  though  the  Anne  was  sent  to  cruise  in  com- 
pany. Five  whale-boats,  with  the  necessary  crews,  were  em- 
ployed ;  two  remaining  with  the  Anne,  and  three  in  the  brig. 
The  Kannakas  were  found  to  be  indefatigable  at  the  oar,  and  a 
good  number  of  them  were  used  on  this  occasion.  About 
twenty  of  the  largest  boys  belonging  to  the  colony  were  also 
sent  out,  in  order  to  accustom  them  to  the  sea.  These  boys 
were  between  the  ages  of  eight- and  sixteen,  and  were  made 
useful  in  a  variety  of  ways. 

Great  was  the  interest  awakened  in  the  colony  when  the 
Henlopen  and  the  Ann.'  sailed  on  this  adventure.  Many  of 
the  women — the  wives,  daughters,  sisters,  or  sweethearts  of  the 
whalers — would  gladly  have  gone  along;  and  so  intense  did  the 
feeling  become,  that  the  governor  determined  to  make  a  festival 
of  the  occasion,  and  to  offer  to  take  out,  himself,  in  the  Mer- 
maid, as  many  of  both  sexes  as  might  choose  to  make  a  trip  of 
a  few  days  at  sea,  and  be  witnesses  of  the  success  of  their 
friends  in  this  new  undertaking.  Betts  also  took  a  party  in  the 
Martha.  The  Abraham,  too,  was  in  company;  while  the 
Neshamony  was  sent  to  leeward,  to  keep  a  look-out  in  that 
quarter,  lest  the  natives  should  take  it  into  their  heads  to  visit 
the  group  while  so  many  of  its  fighting-men,  fully  a  hundred 
altogether,  were  absent.  It  is  true,  those  who  stayed  at  home 
were  fully  able  to  beat  off  Waally  and  his  followers  ;  but  the 
governor  thought  it  prudent  to  have  a  look-out.  Such  was  the 
difference  produced  by  habit.  When  the  whole  force  of  the 
colony  consisted  of  less  than  twenty  men,  it  was  thought  suffi- 
cient to  protect  itself,  could  it  be  brought  to  act  together ; 
whereas  now,  when  ten  times  twenty  were  left  at  home,  unu- 
sual caution  was  deemed  necessary,  because  the  colony  was 
weakened  by  this  expedition  of  so  many  of  its  members.  But 
every  thing  is  comparative  with  man. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  whaling  expedition  sailed  ;  the  gov- 
ernor leading  on  board  the  Mermaid,  which  had  no  less  than 
forty  females  in  her,  Bridget  and  Anne  being  among  them. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  3Si* 

The  vessels  went  out  by  the  southern  channel,  passing  through 
the  strait  at  the  bridge  in  order  to  do  so.  This  course  was 
taken,  as  it  would  be  easier  to  turn  to  windward  in  the  open 
water  between  the  south  cape  and  the  peak,  than  to  do  it  in 
the  narrow  passages  between  the  islands  of  the  group.  The 
Mermaid  led  off  handsomely,  sparing  the  Henlopcn  her  courses 
and  royals.  Even  the  Abraham  could  spare  the  last  vessel  her 
fore-sail,  the  new  purchase  turning  out  to  be  any  thing  but  a 
traveller.  The  women  wondered  how  so  slow  a  vessel  could 
ever  catch  a  whale  ! 

The  direction  steered  by  the  fleet  carried  it  close  under  the 
weather  side  of  the  peak,  the  summit  of  which  was  crowded  by 
the  population,  to  see  so  unusual  and  pleasing  a  sight.  The  Mar- 
tha led,  carrying  rather  more  sail,  in  proportion  to  her  size,  than 
the  Mermaid.  It  happened,  by  one  of  those  vagaries  of  fortune 
which  so  often  thwart  the  best  calculations,  that  a  spout  was 
seen  to  windward  of  the  cliffs,  at  a  moment  when  the  sloop  was 
about  a  league  nearer  to  it  than  any  other  vessel.  Now,  every 
vessel  in  the  fleet  had  its  whale-boat  and  whale-boat's  crew ; 
though  the  men  of  all  but  those  who  belonged  to  the  Henlopen 
were  altogether  inexperienced.  It  is  true,  they  had  learned 
the  theory  of  the  art  of  taking  a  whale,  but  they  were  utterly 
wanting  in  the  practice.  Betts  was  not  -the  man  to  have  the 
game  in  view,  however,  and  not  make  an  effort  to  overcome  it. 
His  boat  was  manned  in  an  inst.ant,  and  away  he  went,  with 
Socrates  in  the  bows,  to  fasten  to  a  huge  creature  that  was  roll- 
ing on  the  water  in  a  species  of  sluggish  enjoyment  of  its  in- 
stincts. It  ofteu  happens  that  very  young  soldiers,  more  espe- 
cially when  an  esprit  de  corps  has  been  awakened  in  them, 
achieve  things  from  which  older  troops  would  retire,  under  the 
consciousness  of  their  hazards.  So  did  it  prove  with  the  Mar- 
tha's boat's  crew  on  this  occasion.  Betts  steered,  and  he  put 
them  directly  on  the  whale  ;  Socrates,  who  looked  fairly  green 
under  the  influence  of  alarm  and  eagerness  to  attack,  both  in- 
creased by  the  total  novelty  of  his  situation,  making  his  dart  of 
the  harpoon  when  the  bows  of  the  fragile  craft  were  literally 


390  THE      C  RATE  R: 

over  the  huge  body  of  the  animal.  All  the  energy  of  the  negro 
was  thrown  into  his  blow,  for  he  felt  as  if  it  were  life  or  death 
with  him";  and  the  whale  spouted  blood  immediately.  It  is 
deemed  a  great  exploit  with  whalers,  though  it  is  not  of  very 
rare  occurrence,  to  inflict  a  death-wound  with  the  harpoon  ;  that 
implement  being  intended  to  make  fast. with  to  the  fish,  which 
is  subsequently  slain  with  what  is  termed  a  lance.  But  Socrates 
actually  killed  the  first  whale  he  ever  struck,  with  a  harpoon ; 
and  from  that  moment  he  became  an  important  personage  in 
the  tisheries  of  those  seas.  That  blow  was  a  sort  of  Palo  Alto 
affair  to  him,  and  was  the  forerunner  of  many  similar  successes. 
Indeed,  it  soon  got  to  be  said  that  "  with  Bob  Betts  to  put- 
the  boat  on,  and  Old  Soc  to  strike,  a  whale  commonly  has  a 
hard  time  on't."  It  is  true,  that  a  good  many  boats  were  stove, 
and  two  Kannakas  were  drowned,  that  very  summer,  in  con- 
sequence of  these  tactics ;  but  the  whales  were  killed,  and  Betts 
and  the  black  escaped  with  whole  skins. 

On  this — the  first  occasion — the  whale  made  the  water  foam, 
half-filled  the  boat,  and  would  have  dragged  it  under,  but  for 
the  vigor  of  the  negro's  arm  and  the  home  character  of  the 
blow,  which  caused  the  fish  to  turn  up  and  breathe  his  last,  be- 
fore he  had  time  to  run  any  great  distance.  The  governor  ar- 
rived on  the  spot  just  as  Bob  had  got  a  hawser  to  the  whale 
and  was  ready  to  fill  away  for  the  south  cape  channel  again. 
The  vessels  passed  each  other  cheering,  and  the  governor  ad- 
monished his  friend  not  to  carry  the  carcass  too  near  the  dwell- 
ings, lest  it  should  render  them  uninhabitable.  But  Betts  had 
his  anchorage  already  in  his  eye,  and  away  he  went,  with  the 
wind  on  his  quarter,  towing  his  prize  at  the  rate  of  four  or  five 
knots.  It  may  be  said,  here,  that  the  Martha  went  into  the  pas- 
sage, and  that  the  whale  was  floated,  into  shallow  water,  where 
sinking  was  out  of  the  question,  and  Bob  and  his  Kannakas — ■ 
about  twenty  in  number — went  to  work  to  peel  off  the  blubber 
in  a  very  efficient,  though  not  in  a  very  scientific  or  artis- 
tical  manner.  They  got  the  creature  stripped  of  its  jacket  of  fat 
that  very  night,  and  next  morning  the  Martha  appeared  with  a 


OR,     VULCAN    8     PEAK.  391 

set  of  kettles,  in  which  the  blubber  was  tried  out.  Casks  were 
also  brought  in  the  sloop,  and  when  the  work  was  done,  it  was 
found  that  that  single  wkale  yielded  one  hundred  and  eleven 
barrels  of  oil,  of  which  thirty -three  barrels  were  head-matter  ! 
This  was  a  capital  commencement  for  the  new  trade,  and  Betts 
conveyed  the  whole  of  his  prize  to  the  reef,  where  the  oil  was 
started  into  the  ground-tier  of  the  Rancocus,  the  casks  of  which 
were  nearly  repaired,  and  ready  stowed  to  receive  it. 

A  week  later,  as  the  governor,  in  the  Mermaid,  cruising  in 
company  with  the  Henlopen  and  Abraham,  was  looking  out  for 
whales  about  a  hundred  miles  to  windward  of  the  peak,  havinor 
met  with  no  success,  he  was  again  joined  by  Betts  in  the 
Martha.  Every  thing  was  reported  right  at  the  -reef.  The 
Neshamony  had  come  in  for  provisions  and  gone  out  again, 
and  the  Rancocus  would  stand  up  without  watching,  with  her 
hundred  and  eleven  barrels  of  oil  in  her  lower  hold.  The 
governor  expressed  his  sense  of  Betts'  services,  and  reminding 
him  of  his  old  faculty  of  seeing  further  and  truer  than  most  on 
board,  he  asked  him  to  go  up  into  the  brig's  cross-trees  and 
take  a  look  for  whales.  The  keen-eyed  fellow  had  not  been 
aloft  ten  minutes,  before  the  cry  of  "  spouts  —  spouts!"  was 
ringing  through  the  vessel.  The  proper  signal  was  made  to 
the  Henlopen  and  Abraham,  when  everybody  made  sail  in  the 
necessary  direction.  By  sunset  a  great  number  of  whales  were 
fallen  in  with,  and  as  Captain  Walker  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
they  were  feeding  in  that  place,  no  attempt  was  made  on'  them 
until  morning.  The  next  day,  however,  with  the  return  of 
light,  six  boats  were  in  the  water,  and  pulling  off  toward  the 
game. 

On  this  occasion,  Walker  led  on,  as  became  his  rank  and 
experience.  In  less  than  an  hour  he  was  fast  to  a  very  large 
whale,  a  brother  of  that  taken  by  Betts,  and  the  females  had 
the  exciting  spectacle  of  a  boat  towed  by  an  enormous  fish 
at  a  rate  of  no  less  than  twenty  knots  in  an  hour.  It  is  the 
practice  among  whalers  for  the  vessel  to  keep  working  to  wind- 
ward while  the  game   is  taking,  in  order  to  be  in  the  most 


392  the    crater: 

favorable  position  to  close  with  the  boats  after  the  whale  is 
killed.  So  long,  however,  as  the  creature  has  life  in  it,  .it 
would  be  folly  to  aim  at  any  other  object  than  getting  to  wind- 
ward, for  the  fish  may  be  here  at  one  moment,  and  a  league  off 
in  a  few  minutes  more.  Sometimes  the  alarmed  animal  goes 
fairly  out  of  sight  of  the  vessel,  running  in  a  straight  line  some 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  when  the  alternatives  are  to  run  the 
chances  pf  missing  the  ship  altogether,  or  to  cut  from  the 
whale.  By  doing  the  last,  not  only  is  a  harpoon  lost,  but  often 
several  hundred  fathoms  of  line  ;  and  it  not  unfrequently  hap- 
pens that  whales  are  killed  with  harpoons  in  them,  left  by  for- 
mer assailants,  and  dragging  after  them  a  hundred,  or  two, 
fathoms  of  line. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  explain  to  the  uninitiated  readei, 
that  the  harpoon  is  a  barbed  spear,  with  a  small,  but  stout 
cord,  or  whale  line  fastened  to  it.  The  boat  approaches  the 
fish  bow  foremost,  but  is  made  sharp  at  both  ends,  that  it  may 
"back  off"  if  necessary  ;  the  whale  being  often  dangerous  to 
approach,  and  ordinarily  starting,  when  struck,  in  *a  way  to  ren- 
der his  immediate  neighborhood  somewhat  ticklish.  The  fish 
usually  goes  down  when  harpooned,  and  the  line  must  be  per- 
mitted to  "run  out,"  or  he  would  drag  the  boat  after  him.  But 
a  whale  must  breathe  as  well  as  a  man,  and  the  faster  he  runs 
the  sooner  he  must  come  up  for  a  fresh  stock  of  air.  Now,  the 
proper  use  of  the  harpoon  and  the  line  is  merely  to  fasten  to 
the  fish  ;  though  it  does  sometimes  happen  that  the  creature  is 
killed  by  the  former.  As  soon  as  the  whale  reappears  on  the 
surface,  and  becomes  stationary,  or  even  moderates  his  speed  a 
little,  the  men  begin  to  haul  in  line,  gradually  closing  with  their 
intended  victim.  It  often  happens  that  the  whale  starts  afresh, 
when  line  must  be  permitted  to  run  out  anew  ;  this  process  of 
"  hauling  in"  and  "  letting  run"  being  often  renewed  several 
times  at  the  taking  of  a  single  fish.  When  the  boat  can  be 
hauled  near  enough,  the  officer  at  its  head  darts  his  lance  into 
the  whale,  aiming  at  a  vital  part.  If  the  creature  "spouts 
blood,"  it  is  well ;  but  if  not  hit  in  the  vitals,  away  it  goes,  and 


OR,     VULCAN    8     PEAK.  393 

the  whole  business  of  "letting  run,"  "towing,"  and  "hauling 
in"  has  to  be  gone  over  again. 

On  the  present  occasion,  Walker's  harpooner,  or  boat-steerer, 
as  be  is  called,  had  made  a  good  "heave,"  and  was  well  fast  to 
his  fish.  The  animal  made  a  great  circuit,  running  completely 
round  the  Mermaid,  at  a  distance  which  enabled  those  on  board 
her  to  see  all  that  was  passing.  When  nearest  to  the  brig,  and 
the  water  was  curling  off  the  bow  of  the  boat  in  combs  two  feet 
higher  than  her  gunwale,  under  the  impulse  given  by  the  frantic 
career  of  the  whale,  Bridget  pressed  closer  to  her  husband's  side, 
and,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  mentally  thanked  Heaven  that 
he  was  the  governor,  since  that  was  an  office  which  did  not  re- 
quire him  to  go  forth  and  kill  whales.  At  that  very  moment, 
Mark  was  burning  with  the  desire  to  have  a  hand  in  the  sport, 
though  he  certainly  had  some  doubts  whether  such  an  occupa 
tion  would  suitably  accord  with  the  dignity  of  his  office. 

Walker  got  alongside  of  his  whale  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
two  brigs,  and  to  leeward  of  both.  In  consequence  of  this  fa- 
vorable circumstance,  the  Henlopen  soon  had  its  prize  hooked 
on,  and  her  people  at  work  stripping  off  the  blubber.  This  is 
done  by  hooking  the  lower  block  of  a  powerful  purchase  in  a 
portion  of  the  substance,  and  then  cutting  a  strip  of  convenient 
size,  and  heaving  on  the  fall  at  the  windlass.  The  strip  is  cut 
by  implements  called  spades,  and  the  blubber  is  torn  from  the 
carcass  by  the  strain,  after  the  sides  of  the  "blanket-piece,"  as 
the  strip  is  termed,  are  separated  from  the  other  portions  of  the 
animal  by  the  cutting  process.  The  "  blanket-pieces"  are  often 
raised  as  high  as  the  lower  mast-heads,  or  as  far  as  the  purchase 
will  admit  of  its  being  carried,  when  a  transverse  cut  is  made, 
and  the  whole  of  the  fragment  is  lowered  on  deck.  This  "blanket- 
piece"  is  then  cut  into  pieces  and  put  into  the  try-works,  a  large 
boiler  erected  on  deck,  in  order  to  be  "tryed-out,"  when  the 
oil  is  cooled,  and  "started"  below  into  casks.  In  this  instance  the 
oil  was  taken  on  board  the  Abraham  as  fast  as  it  was  "  tryed-out" 
on  board  the  Henlopen,  the  weather  admitting  of  the  transfer. 

But  that  single  whale  was  far  from  being  the  only  fruits  of 
17* 


394  the    crater: 

Betts'  discovery.  The  honest  old  Delaware  seaman  took  two 
more  whales  himself,  Socrates  making  fast,  and  he  killing  the 
creatures.  The  boats  of  the  Henlopen  also  took  two  more,  and 
Chat  of  the  Abraham  one.  Betts  in  the  Martha,  and  the  gov- 
ernor in  the  Mermaid,  towed  four  of  these  whales  into  the  south- 
ern channel,  and  into  what  now  got  the  name  of  the  Whaling 
Bight.  This  was  the  spot  where  Betts  had  tryed  out  the  first 
fish  taken,  and  it  proved  to  be  every  way  suitable  for  its  busi- 
ness. The  bight  formed  a  perfectly  safe  harbor,  and  there  was 
not  only  a  sandy  shoal  on  which  the  whales  could  be  floated 
and  kept  from  sinking,  a  misfortune  that  sometimes  occurs,  but 
it  had  a  natural  quay  quite  near,  where  the  Rancocus,  herself, 
could  lie.  There  was  fresh  water  in  abundance,  and  an  island 
if  sufficient  size  to  hold  the  largest  whaling  establishment  that 
ever  existed.  This  island  was  incontinently  named  Blubber 
Island.  The  greatest  disadvantage  was  the  total  absence  of  soil, 
and  consequently  of  all  sorts  of  herbage  ;  but  its  surface  was 
as  smooth  as  that  of  an  artificial  quay,  admitting  of  the  rolling 
of  casks  with  perfect  ease.  The  governor  no  sooner  ascertained 
the  facilities  of  the  place,  which  was  far  enough  from  the  ordi- 
nary passage  to  and  from  the  peak  to  remove  the  nuisances,  than 
he  determined  to  make  it  his  whaling  haven. 

The  Abraham  was  sent  across  to  Rancocus  Island  for  a  load 
of  lumber,  and  extensive  sheds  were  erected  in  time  to  receive 
the  Henlopen,  when  she  came  in  with  a  thousand  barrels  of  oil 
on  board,  and  towing  in  three  whales  that  she  had  actually  tak- 
en in  the  passage  between  Cape  South  and  the  peak.  By  that 
time  the  Rancocus  had  been  moved,  being  stiff  enough  to  be 
brought  from  the  reef  to  Blubber  Island  under  some  of  her 
lower  sails.  This  moving  of  vessels  among  the  islands  of  the 
group  was  a  very  easy  matter,  so  long  as  they  were  not  to  be 
earned  to  windward ;  and  a  further  acquaintance  with  the  chan- 
nels had  let  the  mariners  into  the  secret  of  turning  up  against 
the  trades  and  within  the  islands,  by  keeping  in  such  reaches 
as  enabled  them  to  go  as  near  the  wind  as  was  necessary,  while 
they  were  not  compelled  to  go  nearer  than  a  craft  could  lie. 


OR,     VULC  AN's      PEAK. 


395 


Such  was  the  commencement  of  a  trade  that  was  destined  to 
be  of  the  last  importance  to  our  colonists.  The  oil  that  was 
brought  in  from  this  first  cruise — a  cruise  that  lasted  less  than 
two  months — and  including  that  taken  by  all  the  boats,  amount- 
ed-to  two  thousand  barrels,  quite  filling  the  lower  hold  of  the 
Rancocus,  and  furnishing  her  with  more  than  half  of  a  full  cargo. 
At  the  prices  which  then  ruled  in  the  markets  of  Europe  and 
America,  three  thousand  five  hundred  barrels  of  spermaceti,  with 
a  due  proportion  of  head-matter,  was  known  to  be  worth  near 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  might  be  set  down  as  large  a 
return  for  labor  as  men  could  obtain  under  the  most  advanta- 
geous circumstances. 


«^V 


596  the    crater: 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

u  The  forest  reels  beneath  the  stroke 
Of  6turdy  woodman's  axe ; 
The  earth  receives  the  white  man's  yoke, 

And  pays  her  willing  tax 
Of  fruits,  and  flowers,  and  golden  harvest  field* 
And  all  that  nature  to  blitho  labor  yields." 

Paulding. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  success  which  attended  the  be- 
ginning of  the  whaling,  it  was  six  months  before  the  Rancocus 
was  loaded,  and  ready  to  sail  for  Hamburgh  with  her  cargo. 
This  time  the  ship  went  east  at  once,  instead  of  sailing  to  the 
westward,  as  she  had  previously  done — taking  with  her  a  crew 
composed  partly  of  colonists  and  partly  of  Kannakas.  Six 
boys,  however,  went  in  the  ship,  the  children  of  reputable  set- 
tlers ;  all  of  wdiom  the  governor  intended  should  be  officers, 
hereafter,  on  board  of  colony  vessels.  To  prevent  difficulties 
on  the  score  of  national  character,  on  leaving  America  the  last 
time,  Saunders  had  cleared  for  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  a 
market ;  meaning  to  cover  his  vessel,  let  her  go  where  she  might, 
by  the  latter  reservation.  This  question  of  nationality  offered 
a  good  deal  of  embarrassment  in  the  long  run,  and  the  council 
foresaw  future  embarrassments  as  connected  with  the  subject ; 
but,  every  one  of  the  colonists  being  of  American  birth,  and 
America  being  then  neutral,  and  all  the  American-built  vessels 
having  American  papers,  it  was  thought  most  prudent  to  let 
things  take  their  natural  course  under  the  existing  arrangement, 
until  something  occurred  to  render  a  more  decided  policy  ad- 
visable. 

As  soon  as  the  Rancocus  got  off,  the  Ileulopen  went  out 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  397 

again,  to  cruise  about  two  hundred  leagues  to  windward  ;  while 
the  in-shore  fishery  was  carried  on  by  Betts,  in  the  Martha,  with 
great  spirit  and  most  extraordinary  success.  So  alive  did  the 
people  get  to  be  to  the  profit  and  sport  of  this  sort  of  business, 
that  boats  were  constructed,  and  crews  formed  all  over  the  col- 
ony, there  being  often  as  many  as  a  dozen  different  parties  out, 
taking  whales  near  the  coasts.  The  furor  existed  on  the  peak, 
as  well  as  in  the  low  lands,  and  Bridget  and  Anne  could  not  but 
marvel  that  men  would  quit  the  delicious  coolness,  the  beautiful 
groves,  and  all  the  fruits  and  bountiful  products  of  that  most 
delightful  plain,  to  go  out  on  the  ocean,  in  narrow  quarters,  and 
under  a  hot  sun,  to  risk  their  lives  in  chase  of  the  whale  !  This 
did  the  colonists,  nevertheless,  until  the  governor  himself  began 
to  feel  the  necessity  of  striking  a  whale,  if  he  would  maintain 
his  proper  place  in  the  public  opinion. 

As  respects  the  governor,  and  the  other  high  functionaries 
of  the  colony,  some  indulgence  was  entertained ;  it  being  the 
popular  notion  that  men  who  lived  so  much  within  doors,  and 
whose  hands  got  to  be  so  soft,  were  not  exactly  the  sort  of  per- 
sons who  would  be  most  useful  at  the  oar.  Heaton  and  the 
merchants,  Pennock,  and  the  two  younger  Woolstons,  with  the 
clergyman,  were  easily  excused  in  the  popular  mind ;  but  the 
governor  was  known  to  be  a  prime  seaman,  and  a  silent  expec- 
tation appeared  to  prevail,  that  some  day  he  would  *be  seen  in 
the  bow  of  a  boat,  lancing  a  whale.  Before  the  first  season  was 
over,  this  expectation  was  fully  realized ;  Governor  Woolston 
heading  no  less  than  four  of  what  were  called  the  colony  boats, 
or  boats  that  belonged  to  the  state,  and  fished  as  much  for  hon- 
or as  profit,  taking  a  fine  whale  on  each  occasion.  These  ex- 
ploits of  the  governor's  capped  the  climax,  in  the  way  of  giving 
a  tone  to  the  public  mind,  on  the  subject  of  taking  whales.  No 
man  could  any  longer  doubt  of  its  being  honorable,  as  well  as 
useful,  and  even  the  boys  petitioned  to  be  allowed  to  go  out. 
The  Kannakas,  more  or  less  of  whom  were  employed  in  each 
vessel,  rose  greatly  in  the  public  estimation,  and  no  young  man 
could  expect  to  escape  animadversion,  unless  he  had  been  pies- 


398  the    crater: 

ent  at  least  once  at  the  taking  of  a  whale.  Those  who  had 
struck  or  lanced  a  fish  were  now  held  in  a  proportionate  degree 
of  repute.  It  was,  in  fact,  in  this  group  that  the  custom  origi- 
nally obtained,  which  prohibited  a  young  man  from  standing  at 
the  head  of  a  dance  who  had  not  struck  his  fish  ;  and  not  at 
Nantucket,  as  has  been  erroneously  supposed. 

In  a  community  where  such  a  spirit  was  awakened,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  great  success  attended  the  fisheries.  The  Hen- 
lopen  did  well,  bringing  in  eight  hundred  barrels  ;  but  she  found 
six  hundred  more  in  waiting  for  her,  that  had  been  taken  by  the 
in-shore  fishermen  ;  some  using  the  Abraham,  some  the  Martba, 
some  the  Anne,  and  others  again  nothing  but  the  boats  in  which 
they  pursued  their  game.  In  the  latter  cases,  however,  when  a 
fish  was  taken,  one  of  the  larger  vessels  was  usually  employed 
to  take  the  creature  into  the  bight.  In  this  way  was  the  oil 
obtained,  which  went  to  make  up  a  cargo  for  the  Ilenjopen. 
The  governor  had  his  doubts  about  sending  this  brig  on  so  dis- 
tant a  voyage,  the  vessel  being  so  slow ;  but  there  was  no 
choice,  since  she  must  go,  or  the  cargo  must  remain  a  long  time 
where  it  was.  The  brig  was  accordingly  filled  up,  taking  in 
seventeen  hundred  barrels ;  and  she  sailed  for  Hamburgh,  under 
the  command  of  a  young  man  named  Thomas.  Walker  remained 
behind,  preferring  to  superintend  the  whaling  affairs  at  home. 

So  high*  did  the  fever  run,  by  this  time,  that  it  was  deter- 
mined to  build  a  couple  of  vessels,  each  to  measure  about  a 
hundred  and  eighty  tons,  with  the  sole  object  of  using  them  to 
take  the  whale.  Six  months  after  laying  their  keels,  these  little 
brigs  were  launched ;  and  lucky  it  was  that  the  governor  had 
ordered  copper  for  a  ship  to  be  brought  out,  since  it  now  came 
handy  for  using  on  these  two  craft.  But  the  whaling  business 
had  not  been  suffered  to  lag  while  the  Jonas  and  the  Dragon 
were  on  the  stocks  ;  the  Anne,  and  the  Martha,  and  the  single 
boats  being  out  near  half  the  time.  Five  hundred  barrels  were 
taken  in  this  way  ;  and  Betts,  in  particular,  had  made  so  much 
money,  or  what  was  the  same  thing,  had  got  so  much  oil,  that 
he  came  one  morning  to  his  friend  the  governor,  when  the  fol- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  399 

lowing  interesting  dialogue  took  place  between  them,  in  the 
audience-chamber  of  the  Colony  House.  It  may  as  well  be  said 
here,  that  the  accommodations  for  the  chief  magistrate  had 
been  materially  enlarged,  and  that  he  now  dwelt  in  a  suite  of 
apartments  that  would  have  been  deemed  respectable  even  in 
Philaddphia.  Bridget  had  a  taste  for  furniture,  and  the  wood 
of  Rancocus  Island  admitted  of  many  articles  being  made  that 
were  really  beautiful,  and  which  might  have  adorned  a  palace. 
Fine  mats  had  been  brought  from  China,  such  as  are,  and  long 
have  been,  in  common  use  in  America ;  neat  and  quaint  chairs 
and  settees  had  also  been  in  the  governor's  invoices,  to  say 
nothing  of  large  quantities  of  fine  and  massive  earthenware.  In 
a  word,  the  governor  was  getting  to  be  rich,  and  like  all  wealthy 
men,  he  had  a  disposition  to  possess,  in  a  proportionate  degree, 
the  comforts  and  elegancies  of  civilized  life.  But  to  come  to 
our  dialogue — 

"  Walk  in,  Captain  Betts — walk  in,  sir,  and  do  me  the 
favor  to  take  a  chair,"  said  the  governor,  motioning  to  his  old 
friend  to  be  seated.  "  You  are  always  welcome,  here  ;  for  I  do 
not  forget  old  times,  I  can  assure  you,  my  friend." 

"  Thankee,  governor — thankee,  with  all  my  heart.  I  do  find 
every  thing  changed,  now-a-days,  if  the  truth  must  be  said,  but 
yourself.  To  me,  you  be  always  Mr.  Mark,  and  Mr.  Woolston, 
and  we  seem  to  sail  along  in  company,  much  as  we  did  the 
time  when  you  first  went  out  a  fore-mastdad,  and  I  teached  you 
the  difference  between  a  flat-knot  and  a  granny." 

"  No,  no,  Bob,  every  thing  is  not  so  much  changed  as  you 
pretend — I  am  not  changed,  in  the  first  place." 

'"I   confess  it — you  be  the  same,  governor,    blow  high   or 
blow  low." 

"  Then  Martha  is  not  changed,  or  nothing  worth  mentioning. 
A  little  more  matronly,  perhaps,  and  not  quite  as  much  of  a 
girl  as  when  you  first  made  her  acquaintance  ;  but  Martha, 
nevertheless.  And  as  for  her  heart,  I'll  answer  for  it,  that  is 
just  the  color  it  was  at  sixteen." 

"Why,   yes,   governor;   'tis  much  as  you  say.       Marthy  is 


400  the    crater: 

now  the  mother  of  four  children,  and  that  confarms  a  woman's 
appearance,  depend  on't.  But  Marthy  is  Marthy  ;  and,  for  that 
matter,  Miss  Bridget  is  Miss  Bridget,  as  much  as  one  pea  is 
like  another.  Madam  Woolston  does  full  credit  to  the  climate, 
governor,  and  looks  more  like  eighteen  than  ever." 

"  My  wife  enjoys  excellent  health,  Betts  ;  and  grateful  am  I 
to  God  that  it  is  so.  But  I  think  all  our  women  have  a  fresh 
and  sea-air  sort  of  look,  a  cheerful  freshness  about  them,  that  I 
ascribe  to  the  salt  and  the  sea-breezes.  Then  we  have  mountain 
air,  in  addition,  on  the  peak." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir — I  dare  say  you've  got  it  right,  as  you  do  most 
matters.  Well,  governor,  I  don't  know  which  counts  up  the 
fastest  in  the  colony,  children  or  whales  !" 

"Both  nourish,"  answered  Mark,  smiling,  "as  our  reports 
show.  Mr.  Secretary  tells  me  that  there  were,  on  the  first  of 
the  last  month,  three  hundred  and  eighteen  children  in  the 
colony  under  the  age  of  ten  years  ;  of  whom  no  less  than  one 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  are  born  here — pure  Craterinos, 
including  your  children  and  mine,  Betts." 

"  It's  a  fine  beginniug,  governor — a  most  capital  start ;  and, 
though  the  young  'uns  can't  do  much  at  taking  a  whale,  or  se- 
curing the  ile,  just  now,  they'll  come  on  in  their  turns,  and  be 
useful  when  we're  in  dock  as  hulks,  sir." 

"  Talking  of  oil,  you  must  be  getting  rich,  Captain  Betts.  I 
hear  you  got  in  another  hundred-barrel  gentleman  last  week  !" 

"  Times  is  altered  with  me,  governor ;  and  times  is  altered 
with  you,  too,  sir,  since  you  and  I  rafted  loam  and  sea-weed,  to 
raise  a  few  cucumbers,  and  squashes,  and  melons.  Then,  we 
should  have  been  as  happy  as  princes  to  have  had  a  good  roof 
over  our  heads." 

"  I  trust  we  are  both  thankful,  where  thanks  are  due,  for  all 
this  Betts?" 

"Why,  yes,  sir,  I  endivor  so  to  be;  though  men  is  des- 
perate apt  to  believe  they  desarve  all  they  get  but  the  ill-luck. 
I  and  Marthy  try  to  think  of  what  is  all  in  all  to  us,  and  I  be- 
lieve Marthy   does  make  out   pretty  well,   in  that  partic'lar, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  401 

accordin'  to  Friends'  ways ;  though  I  arn  often  jammed  in 
religion,  and  all  for  want  of  taking  to  it  early,  as  I  sometimes 
think,  sir." 

"  There  is  no  doubt,  Betts,  that  men  grow  in  Christian 
character,  as  well  as  in  evil;  and  the  most  natural  growth,  in 
all  things,  is  that  of  the  young.  A  great  deal  is  to  be  undone 
and  unlearned,  if  we  put  off  the  important  hour  to  a  late  period 
in  life." 

"  Well,  as  to  unl'arnin',  I  suppose  a  fellow  that  had  as  little 
edication  as  myself  will  have  an  easy  time  of  it,"  answered 
Betts,  with  perfect  simplicity  and  good  faitk ;  "for  most  of 
my  schoolin'  was  drowned  in  salt '  water  by  the  time  I  was 
twelve." 

"I  am  glad  of  one  thing,"  put  in  the  governor,  half  in  a 
congratulating  way,  and  half  inquiringly,  "  and  that  is,  that 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Hornblower  takes  so  well  with  the  people.  Every- 
body appears  to  be  satisfied  with  his  ministrations  ;  and  I  do 
not  see  that  any  one  is  the  worse  for  them,  although  he  is  an 
Episcopalian." 

Betts  twisted  about  on  his  chair,  and  seemed  at  first  unwill- 
ing to  answer  ;  but  his  natural  frankness,  and  his  long  habits 
of  intimacy  and  confidence  with  Mark  Woolston,  both  a-:  man 
and  boy,  forbade  his  attempting  any  thing  seriously  in  the  way 
of  concealment. 

"  Well,  governor,  they  do  say  that  'many  men,  many  minds,'" 
he  replied,  after  a  brief  pause  ;  "  and  I  suppose  it's  as  true 
about  religion,  as  in  a  judgment  of  ships,  or  in  a  ch'ice  of  a  wife. 
If  all  men  took  to  the  same  woman,  or  all  seamen  shipped  for 
the  same  craft,  a  troublesome  household,  aud  a  crowded  and 
onhealthy  vessel,  would  be  the  upshot  on't." 

"  We  have  a  choice  given  us  by  Providence,  both  as  to  ships 
and  as  to  wives,  Captain  Betts  ;  but  no  choice  is  allowed  any 
of  us  in  what  relates  to  religion.  In  that,  we  are  to  mind  the 
sailor's  maxim,  'to  obey  orders  if  we  break  owners.'  " 

"Little  fear  of  'breaking  owners,'  I  fancy,  governor.  But 
the  difficulty  is  to  know  what  orders  is.     Now,  Friends  doesn't 


402  the    crater: 

hold,  at  all,  to  dressing  and  undressing  in  church  time  ;  and  I 
think,  myself,  books  is  out  of  place  in  praying  to  God." 

"  And  is  there  much  said  among  the  people,  Captain  Betts, 
about  the  parson's  gown  and  surplice,  and  about  his  reading 
his  prayers,  instead  of  writing  them  out,  and  getting  them  by 
heart  ?" 

There  was  a  little  malice  in  the  governor's  question,  for  he 
was  too  much  behind  the  curtain  to  be  the  dupe  of  any  pretend- 
ing claims  to  sudden  inspirations,  and  well  knew  that  every 
sect  had  its  liturgy,  though  only  half  a  dozen  have  the  honesty 
to  print  them.  The  answer  of  his  friend  was,  as  usual,  frank, 
and  to  the  point. 

"  I  cannot  say  but  there  is,  Mr.  Mark.  As  for  the  clothes, 
women  will  talk  about  them,  as  you  well  know,  sir ;  it  being 
their  natur'  to  be  dressing  themselves  out,  so  much.  Then,  as 
to  praying  from  the  book,  quite  half  of  our  people  think  it  is 
not  any  better  than  no  praying  at  all.  A  little  worse,  perhaps, 
if  truth  was  spoken." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  this,  Betts.  From  the  manner  in  which 
they  attend  the  services,  I  was  in  hopes  that  prejudices  were 
abating,  and  that  everybody  was  satisfied." 

"  I  don't  think,  governor,  that  there  is  any  great  danger  of  a 
mutiny  ;  though,  '  many  men,  many  minds,'  as  I  said  before. 
But  my  business  here  is  forgotten  all  this  time  ;  and  I  know  it 
isn't  with  your  honor  now  as  it  used  to  be  with  us  both,  when 
we  had  nothing  to  think  of  but  the  means  of  getting  away 
from  this  place,  into  some  other  that  we  fancied  might  be  bet- 
ter. I  wish  you  joy,  sir,  in  having  got  the  two  new  brigs  into 
the  water." 

"  Thank  you,  Captain  Betts.  Does  your  present  visit  relate 
to  either  of  those  brigs  ?" 

"  Why,  to  come  to  the  p'int,  it  does,  sir.  I've  taken  a  fancy 
to  the  Dragon,  and  should  like  to  buy  her." 

"  Buy  her  !  Have  you  any  notion  what  such  a  vessel  will 
cost,  Betts  ?" 

"  Not  a  great  way  from  eight  thousand  dollars,   I  should 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  403 

think,  governor,  now  that  the  copper  is  on.  Some  things  is 
charged  high,  in  this  part  of  the  world,  about  a  wessel,  and 
other  some  isn't.  Take  away  the  copper,  and  I  should  think  a 
good  deal  less  would  buy  either." 

"And  have  you  eight  thousand  dollars  at  command,  my 
friend,  with  which  to  purchase  the  brig  ?" 

"  If  ile  is  money,  yes ;  if  ile  isn't  money,  no.  I've  got 
three  hundred  barrels  on  hand,  one  hundred  of  which  is  head- 
matter." 

"  I  rejoice  to  hear  this,  Captain  Betts,  and  the  brig  you 
shall  have.  I  thought  to  have  sold  both  to  the  merchants,  for 
I  did  not  suppose  any  one  else,  here,  could  purchase  them  ; 
but  I  would  greatly  prefer  to  see  one  of  them  in  the  hands  of 
an  old  friend.  You  shall  have  the  Dragon,  Betts,  since  you 
like  her." 

"  Done  and  done  between  gentlemen  is  enough,  sir ;  not 
that  I  set  myself  up  for  a  gentleman,  governor,  but  I've  lived 
too  long  and  too  much  in  your  respected  society  not  to  have 
l'arn'd  some  of  the  ways.  The  brig's  mine,  if  ile  will  pay  for 
her.  And  now,  sir,  having  completed  the  trade,  I  should 
like  to  know  if  your  judgment  and  mine  be  the  same.  I  say 
the  Dragon  will  beat  the  Jonas  half  a  knot,  the  best  day  the 
Jonas  ever  seed." 

"I  do  not  know  but  you  are  right,  Bob.  In  looking  at  the 
two  craft,  last  evening,  I  gave  the  preference  to  the  Dragon, 
though  I  kept  my  opinion  to  myself,  lest  I  might  mortify  those 
who  built  the  Jonas." 

"  Well,  sir,  I'm  better  pleased  to  hear  this,  than  to  be  able 
to  pay  for  the  brig !  It  is  something  to  a  plain  body  like 
myself,  to  find  his  judgment  upheld  by  them  that  know  all 
about  a  matter." 

In  this  friendly  and  perfectly  confidential  way  did  Mark 
Woolston  still  act  with  his  old  and  long-tried  friend,  Robert 
Betts.  The  Dragon  was  cheap  at  the  money  mentioned,  and 
the  governor  took  all  of  the  old  seaman's  "  ile"  at  the  very  top 
of  the  market.     This  purchase  at  once   elevated  Betts  in  the 


404  the    crater: 

colony  to  a  rank  but  little  below  that  of  the  "  gentlemen,"  if 
his  modesty  disposed  him  to  decline  being  classed  absolutely 
with  them.  What  was  more,  it  put  him  in  the  way  of  almost 
coinino-  money.  The  brig  he  purchased  turned  out  to  be  as 
fast  as  he  expected,  and  what  was  more,  the  character  of  a 
lucky  vessel,  which  she  got  the  very  first  cruise,  never  left  her, 
and  gave  her  commander  and  owner,  at  all  times,  a  choice  of 
hands. 

The  governor  sold  the  Jonas  to  the  merchants,  and  took  the 
Martha  off  Betts'  hands,  causing  this  latter  craft  to  run  regularly, 
and  at  stated  hours,  from  point  to  point  among  the  islands,  in 
the  character  of  a  packet.  Twice  a  week  she  passed  from  the 
reef  to  the  cove  at  the  peak,  and  once  a  fortnight  she  went  to 
Rancocus  Island.  In  addition  to  her  other  duties,  this  sloop 
now  carried  the  mail. 

A  post-office  law  was  passed  by  the  council,  and  was  approved 
of  by  the  governor.  In  that  day,  and  in  a  community  so  sim- 
ple and  practical,  new-fangled  theories  concerning  human  rights 
were  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  regulations  that  were  ob- 
viously necessary  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  public. 

Fortunately,  there  was  yet  no  newspaper — a  species  of  luxury 
which,  like  the  gallows,  comes  in  only  as  society  advances  to 
the  corrupt  condition ;  or  which,  if  it  happen  to  precede"  it  a 
little,  is  very  certain  soon  to  conduct  it  there.  If  every  institu-. 
tion  became  no  more  than  what  it  was  designed  to  be  by  those 
who  originally  framed  it,  the  state  of  man  on  earth  would  be 
very  different  from  what  it  is.  The  unchecked  means  of  publici- 
ty, out  of  all  question,  are  indispensable  to  the  circulation  of 
truths ;  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  unrestrained  means  of 
publicity  are  equally  favorable  to  the  circulation  of  lies.  If  we 
cannot  get  along  safely  without  the  possession  of  one  of  these 
advantages,  neither  can  we  get  along  very  safely  while  existing 
under  the  daily,  hourly  increasing  influence  of  the  other — call 
it  what  you  will.  If  truth  is  all-important,  in  one  sense,  false- 
hood is  all-important  too,  in  a  contrary  sense. 

Had  there  been  a  newspaper  at  the  crater,  under  the  control 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  405 

of  some  philosopher,  who  had  neither  native  talent,  nor  its  sub* 
stitute — education — but  who  had  been  struck  out  of  a  printer's 
devil  by  the  rap  of  a  composing-stick,  as  Minerva  is  reported  to 
have  been  struck,  full-grown,  out  of  Jupiter's  head  by  the  ham- 
mer of  Vulcan,  it  is  probable  that  the  wiseacre  might  have  dis- 
covered that  it  was  an  inexcusable  interference  with  the  rights 
of  the  colonists,  to  enact  that  no  one  should  carry  letters  for 
hire  but  those  connected  with  the  regular  post-office.  But,  no 
such  person  existing,  the  public  mind  was  left  to  the  enjoyment 
of  its  common-sense  ignorance,'  which  remained  satisfied  with 
the  fact  that,  though  it  might  be  possible  to  get  a  letter  carried 
from  the  reef  to  the  cove,  between  which  places  the  communi- 
cations were  constant  and  regular,  for  half  the  money  charged 
by  the  office,  yet  it  was  not  possible  to  get  letters  carried  be- 
tween some  of  the  other  points  in  the  colony  for  twenty  times 
the  regulated  postage.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  people 
of  the  crater  and  the  peak  felt  that  in  supporting  a  general 
system,  which  embraced  the  good  of  all,  they  did  more  toward 
extending  civilization  than  if  they  killed  the  hen,  at  once,  in 
order  to  come  at  the  depository  of  the  golden  eggs  in  the  short- 
est way. 

In  the  middle  ages,  he  who  wished  to  send  a  missive  was 
compelled,  more  than  half  the  time,  to  be  at  the  expense  of  a 
special  messenger.  The  butchers,  and  a  class  of  traders  that 
corresponds,  in  part,  to  the  modern  English  traveller,  took 
charge  of  letters,  on  the  glorious  free-trade  principle;  and 
sometimes  public  establishments  hired  messengers  to  go  back 
and  forth,  for  their  own  purposes.  Then  the  governments, 
perceiving  the  utility  of  such  arrangements,  imperfect  as  they 
were,  had  a  sort  of  post-offices  for  their  use,  which  have  reached 
down  to  our  own  times,  in  the  shape  of  government  messen- 
gers. There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  man  who  found  he 
could  get  a  letter  safely  and  promptly  conveyed  five  hundred 
miles  for  a  crown,  after  having  been  obliged,  previously,  to  pay 
twenty  for  the  same  service,  felt  that  he  was  the  obliged  party, 
and  never  fancied  for  a  moment  that,  in  virtue  of  his  patronage, 


406  the    crater: 

he  was  entitled  to  give  himself  airs,  and  to  stand  upon  his  nat- 
ural right  to  have  a  post-office  of  his  own,  at  the  reduced  price. 
But  indulgence  creates  wantonness,  and  the  very  man  who  re- 
ceives the  highest  favors  from  the  post-offices  of  this  country,  in 
which  a  letter  is  carried  five-and-twenty  hundred  miles  for  ten 
cents,  penetrating  through  some  fourteen  or  fifteen  thousand 
offices,  into  every  cranny  of  a  region  large  as  half  Europe,  kicks 
and  grows  restive  because  he  has  not  the  liberty  of  doing  a  few 
favored  portions  of  the  vast  enterprise  for  himself;  while  he  im- 
poses on  the  public  the  office  of  doing  that  which  is  laborious 
and  unprofitable  !  Such  is  man  ;  such  did  he  become  when  he 
fell  from  his  first  estate ;  and  such  is  he  likely  to  continue  to  be 
until  some  far  better  panacea  shall  be  discovered  for  his  selfish- 
ness and  cupidity,  than  what  is  called  "self-government." 

But  the  Craterinos  were  thankful  when  they  found  that  the 
Martha  was  set  to  running  regularly  from  place  to  place,  carry- 
ing passengers  and  the  mails.  The  two  businesses  were  blended 
together  for  the  sake  of  economy,  and  at  the  end  of  a  twelve- 
month it  was  found  that  the  colony  had  nothing  extra  to  pay. 
On  the  whole,  the  enterprise  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded ; 
and  as  practice  usually  improves  all  such  matters,  in  a  few 
months  it  was  ascertained  that  another  very  important  step  had 
been  taken  on  the  highroad  of  civilization.  Certainly,  the 
colonists  could  not  be  called  a  letter-writing  people,  considered 
as  a  whole,  but  the  facilities  offered  a  temptation  to  improve, 
and  in  time,  the  character  of  the  entire  community  received  a 
beneficial  impression  from  the  introduction  of  the  mails. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  two  brigs  were  sold,  and  just  as  the 
Martha  came  into  government'  possession,  that  all  the  principal 
functionaries  made  a  tour  of  the  whole  settlements,  using  the 
sloop  for  that  purpose.  One  of  the  objects  was  to  obtain 
statistical  facts ;  though  personal  observation,  with  a  view  to 
future  laws,  was  the  principal  motive.  The  governor,  secretary, 
attorney-general,  and  most  of  the  council  were  along;  and 
pleasure  and  business  being  thus  united,  their  wives  were  also 
of  the  party.    There  being  no  necessity  for  remaining  in  the 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  407 

Martha  at  night,  that  vessel  was  found  amply  sufficient  for  all 
other  purposes,  though  the  "progress"  occupied  fully  a  fort- 
night.    As  a  brief  relation  of  its  details  will  give  the  reader  a 
full  idea  of  the  present  state  of  the  "  country,"  as  the  colonists 
now  began  to  call  their  territories,  we  propose  to  accompany 
the  travellers,  day  by  day,  and  to  give  some  short  account  of 
what  they  saw,  and  of  what  they  did.     The  Martha  sailed  from 
the  cave  about  eight  in  the  morning,  having  on  board  seven- 
teen passengers,  in  addition  to  two  or  three  who  were  going 
over  to  Rancoeus  Island  on  their  regular  business.     The  sloop 
did  not  sail,  however,   directly  for  the  last-named  island,  but 
made  toward  the  volcano,  which  had  of  late  ceased  to  be  as 
active  as  formerly,  and  into  the  condition  of  which  it  was  now 
deemed  important  to  make  some  inquiries.     The  Martha  was 
a  very  fast  vessel,  and  was  soon  quietly  anchored  in  a  small 
bay,  on  the  leeward  side  of  the  island,  where  landing  was  not 
only  practicable  but  easy.    For  the  first  time  since  its  existence 
the    crater  was  ascended.      All  the   gentlemen  went  up,  and 
Heaton  took  its  measurement  by  means  of  instruments.     The 
accumulation  of  materials,  principally  ashes  and  scoriae,  though 
lava  had  begun  to  appear  in  one    or  two  small  streams,  had 
been  very  great  since  the  governor's  first  visit  to  the  spot.    The 
island  now  measured  about  two  miles  in  diameter,  and  being 
nearly  round,  might  be  said  to  be  somewhere  near  six  in  cir- 
cumference.    The  crater  itself  was  fully  half  a  mile  in  diameter, 
and,  at  that  moment,  was  quite  a  thousand  feet  in  height  above 
the  sea.     In  the  centre  of  this  vast  valley  were  three  smaller 
craters  or  chimneys,  which  served  as  outlets  to  the  fires  beneath. 
A  plain  had  formed  within  the  crater,  some  four  hundred  feet 
below  its  summit,  and  it  already  began  to  assume  that  sulphur- 
tinged  and  unearthly  hue,  that  is  so  common  in  and  about  active 
volcanoes.     Occasionally,  a  deep  roaring  would  be  succeeded 
by  a  hissing  sound,    not   unlike  that  produced  by  a  sudden 
escape  of  steam  from  a  boiler,  and  then  a  report  would  follow, 
accompauied  by  smoke  and  stones,  some  of  the  latter  of  which 
were  projected  several  hundred  yards  into  the  air,  and  fell  on 


408      .  the    crater: 

the  plain  of  the  crater.  But  these  explosions  were  not  one-tenth 
as  frequent  as  formerly. 

The  result  of  all  the  observations  was  to  create  an  impression 
that  this  outlet  to  the  fires  beneath  was  approaching  a  period 
when  it  would  become  inactive,  and  when,  indeed,  some  other 
outlet  for  the  pent  forces  might  be  made.  After  passing  half  a 
day  on  and  around  the  volcano,  even  Bridget  and  Anne  mus- 
tered courage  and  strength  to  ascend  it,  supported  by  the  will- 
ing arms  of  their  husbands.  The  females  were  rewarded  lor 
their  trouble,  though  both  declared  that  they  should  ever  feel 
a  most  profound  respect  for  the  place  after  this  near  view  of  its 
terrors  as  well  as  of  its  beauties. 

On  quitting  the  volcano,  the  Martha  proceeded  directly  to 
leeward,  reaching  Rancocus  Island  about  sunset.  Here  the 
sloop  anchored  in  the  customary  haven,  and  everybody  but  her 
crew  landed.  The  fort  was  still  kept  up  at  this  place,  on  ac- 
count of  the  small  number  of  the  persons  who  dwelt  there, 
though  little  apprehension  now  existed  of  a  visit  from  the  na- 
tives ;  with  the  exception  of  the  Kannakas,  who  went  back  and 
forth  constantly  on  board  the  different  craft  in  which  they  were 
employed,  not  a  native  had  been  near  either  island  of  the  colony 
since  the  public  visit  of  young  Ooroony,  on  the  occasion  of 
bringing  over  laborers  to  help  to  form  the  grounds  of  Colony 
House.  The  number  and  force  of  the  different  vessels  would 
seem  to  have  permanently  settled  the  question  of  ascendency  in 
those  seas,  and  no  one  any  longer  believed  it  was  a  point  to  be 
controverted. 

The  population  on  Rancocus  Island  did  not  amount  to  more 
than  fifty  souls,  and  these  included  women  and  children.  Of 
the  latter,  however,  there  were  not  yet  many  ;  though  five  or 
six  were  born  annually,  and  scarcely  one  died.  The  men  kept 
the  mill  going,  cutting  lumber  of  all  sorts  ;  and  they  made 
both  bricks  and  lime,  in  sufficient  quantities  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  two  other  islands.  At  first,  it  had  been  found 
necessary  to  keep  a  greater  force  there,  but,  long  before  the 
moment  of  which  we  are  writing,  the  people  had  all  got  into 


OR,     VULCAN    S      PEAK.  409 

their  regular  dwellings,  and  the  materials  now  required  for 
building  were  merely  such  as  were  used  in  additions,  or  new 
constructions.  The  last,  however,  kept  the  men  quite  actively 
employed;  but,  as  they  got  well  paid  tor  their  work,  everybody 
seemed  contented.  The  Martha  never  arrived  without  bring- 
ing over  quantities  of  fruits,  as  well  as  vegetables,  the  Ranco- 
cusers,  lumbermen-like,  paying  but  little  attention  to  gardening 
or  husbandry.  The  island  had  its  productions,  and  there  was 
available  land  enough,  perhaps,  to  support  a  few  thousand  peo- 
ple, but,  after  the  group  and  the  peak,  the  place  seemed  so 
little  tempting  to  the  farmers,  that  no  one  yet  thought  of  using 
it  for  the  ordinary  means  of  supporting  life.  The  "  visitors," 
as  the  party  called  themselves,  had  an  inquiry  made  into  the 
state  of  the  animals  that  had  been  turned  loose,  on  the  pastures 
and  mountain-sides  of  the  island,  to  seek  their  own  livino-. 
The  hogs,  as  usual,  had  increased  largely;  it  was  supposed 
there  might  be  near  two  hundred  of  these  animals,  near  half 
of  which,  however,  were  still  grunters.  The  laborers  occasion- 
ally killed  one,  but  the  number  grew  so  fast  that  it  was  fore- 
seen it  would  be  necessary  to  have  an  annual  hunt,  in  order  to 
keep  it  down.  The  goats  did  particularly  well,  though  they 
remained  so  much  on  the  highest  peaks  as  to  be  seldom  ap- 
proached by  any  of  the  men.  The  cow  had  also  increased  her 
progeny,  there  being  now  no  less  than  four  younger  animals,  all 
of  whom  yielded  milk  to  the  people.  The  poultry  nourished 
here,  as  it  did  in  all  that  region,  the  great  abundance  of  fruit, 
worms,  insects,  etc.,  rendering  it  unnecessary  to  feed  them, 
though  Indian  corn  was  almost  to  be  had  for  the  asking, 
throughout  all  the  islands.  This  grain  was  rarely  harvested, 
except  as  it  was  wanted,  and  the  hogs  that  were  fattened  were 
usually  turned  in  upon  it  in  the  fields. 

It  may  be  well  to  say,  that  practice  and  experience  had 
taught  the  colonists  something  in  the  way  of  fattening  their 
pork.  The  animals  were  kept  in  their  group  until  they  were 
about  eighteen  months  old,  when  they  were  regularlv  trans- 
ported to  the  cove,  in  large  droves,  and  made  to  ascend  the 
18 


410  the    crater: 

steps,  passing  the  last  two  months  of  their  lives  amid  the  de- 
lightful groves  of  the  peak.  Here  they  had  acorns  in  abun- 
dance, though  their  principal  food  was  Indian  corn,  being  regu- 
larly attended  by  Kannakas  who  had  been  trained  to  the  busi- 
ness. At  killing-time,  each  man  either  came  himself,  or  sent 
some  one  to  claim  his  hogs,  all  of  which  were  slaughtered  on 
the  peak,  and  carried  away  in  the  form  of  pork.  The  effect  of 
this  change  was  to  make  much  finer  meat,  by  giving  the  animals 
a  cooler  atmosphere  and  purer  food. 

From  Rancocus  Island  the  Martha  sailed  for  the  group, 
which  was  visited  and  inspected  in  all  its  settlements  by  the 
governor  and  council.  The  policy  adopted  by  the  government 
of  the  colony  was  very  much  unlike  that  resorted  to  in  Amer- 
ica, in  connection  with  the  extension  of  the  settlements.  Here 
;i  vast  extent  of  surface  is  loosely  overrun,  rendering  the  prog- 
ress of  civilization  rapid,  but  very  imperfect.  Were  the  people 
of  the  United  States  confined  to  one-half  the  territory  they 
now  occupy,  there  can  be  little  question  that  they  would  be 
happier,  more  powerful,  more  civilized,  and  less  rude  in  man- 
ners and  feelings  ;  although  it  may  be  high  treason  to  insinuate 
that  they  are  not  all,  men,  women,  and  children,  already  at  the 
ne  plus  ultra  of  each  of  those  attainments.  But  there  is  a  just 
medium  in  the  density  of  human  population,  as  well  as  in 
other  things  ;  and  that  has  not  yet  been  reached,  perhaps,  even 
in  the  most  thickly  peopled  of  any  one  of  the  old  thirteen. 
Now,  Mark  Woolston  had  seen  enough  of  the  fruits  of  a  con- 
centrated physical  force,  in  Europe,  to  comprehend  their  value ; 
and  he  early  set  his  face  against  the  purely  skimming  process. 
He  was  resolved  that  the  settlements  should  not  extend  faster 
than  was  necessary,  and  that  as  much  of  civilization  should  go 
with  them  as  was  attainable.  In  consequence  of  this  policy, 
the  country  soon  obtained  a  polished  aspect,  as  far  as  the  settle- 
ments reached.  There  were  four  or  five  distinct  points  that 
formed  exceptions  to  this  rule,  it  having  been  considered  con- 
venient to  make  establishments  there,  principally  on  account  of 
the  whalers.     One,  and  the  largest  of  these  isolated  settlements, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  411 

was  in  the  Whaling  Bight,  quite  near  to  Blubber  Island,  where 
a  village  had  sprung  up,  containing  the  houses  and  shops  of 
coopers,  rope-makers,  boat-builders,  carpenters,  blacksmiths, 
etc.  ;  men  employed  in  making  casks,  whaling  gear,  and  boats. 
There,  also,  were  the  dwellings  of  three  or  four  masters  and 
mates  of  vessels,  as  well  as  of  sundry  boat-steerers.  In  the 
whole,  there  might  have  been  fifty  habitations  at  this  particular 
point,  of  which  about  two-thirds  were  in  a  straggling  village, 
while  the  remaiuder  composed  so  many  farm-houses.  Every 
thing  at  this  place  denoted  activity  and  a  prosperous  business  ;• 
the  merchants  taking  the  oil  as  fast  as  it  was  ready,  and  return- 
ing for  it  hoops,  iron  in  bars,  hemp,  and  such  other  articles  as 
were  wanted  for  the  trade. 

By  this  time  the  Rancocus  had  returned,  and  had  dis- 
charged her  inward-bound  cargo  at  the  reef,  bringing  excellent 
returns  for  the  oils  sent  to  Hamburgh.  She  now  lay  in  Whaling 
Bight,  being  about  to  load  anew  with  oil  that  had  been  taken 
during  her  absence.  Saunders  was  as  busy  as  a  bee  ;  and  Mrs. 
Saunders,  who  had  come  across  from  her  own  residence  on  the 
peak,  in  order  to  remain  as  long  as  possible  with  her  husband, 
was  as  happy  as  the  day  was  long,  seeming  never  to  tire  of 
exhibiting  her  presents  to  the  other  women  at  the  bight. 

At  the  reef  itself,  an  exceedingly  well-built  little  town  was 
springing  up.  Since  the  removal  of  the  whaling  operations  to 
the  bight,  all  nuisances  were  abated,  and  the  streets,  quays, 
and  public  walks  were  as  neat  as  could  be  desired.  The  trees 
had  grown  wonderfully,  and  the  gardens  appeared  as  verdant 
and  fresh  as  if  they  had  a  hundred  feet  of  loam  beneath  them, 
instead  of  resting  on  solid  lava,  as  was  the  fact.  These  gar- 
dens had  increased  in  numbers  and  extent,  so  that  the  whole 
town  was  embedded  in  verdure  and  young  trees.  That  spot, 
on  which  the  sun  had  once  beaten  so  fiercely  as  to  render  it 
often  too  hot  to  be  supported  by  the  naked  foot,  was  now  ver- 
dant, cool,  and  refreshing,  equally  to  the  eye  and  to  the  feel- 
ings. The  streets  were  narrow,  as  is  desirable  in  warm  climates 
•  thus  creating  shade,  as  well  as  increasing  the  draughts  of  air 


412  the    crater: 

through  them  ;  it  being  in  the  rear  that  the  houses  obtained 
space  for  ventilation  as  well  as  for  vegetation.  The  whole 
number  of  dwellings  on  the  reef  now  amounted  to  sixty-four  ; 
while  the  warehouses,  public  buildings,  ships,  offices,  and  other 
constructions,  brought  the  number  of  the  roofs  up  to  one  hun- 
dred. These  buildings,  Colony  House  and  the  warehouses 
excepted,  were  not  very  large,  certainly,  but  they  were  of  re- 
spectable dimensions,  and  neat  and  well  put  together.  Colony 
House  was  large,  as  has  been  mentioned  ;  and  though  plain, 
certain  ornaments  had  been  completed,  which  contributed 
much  to  its  appearance.  Every  building,  without  exception, 
had  some  sort  of  veranda  to  it ;  and  as  most  of  these  addi- 
tions were  now  embowered  in  shrubs  or  vines,  they  formed 
delightful  places  of  retreat  during  the  heat  of  the  day. 

By  a  very  simple  process,  water  was  pumped  up  from  the 
largest  spring  by  moans  of  wind-sails,  and  conveyed  in  wooden 
logs  to  eVery  building  in  the  place.  The  logs  were  laid  through 
the  gardens,  for  the  double  purpose  of  getting  soil  to  cover  them, 
and  to  put  them  out  of  the  way.  Without  the  town,  a  regular 
system  had  been  adopted,  by  which  to  continue  to  increase  the 
soil.  The  rock  was  blown  out  as  stone  was  wanted ;  leaving, 
however,  a  quay  around  the  margin  of  the  island.  As  soon  as 
low  enough,  the  cavities  became  the  receptacles  of  every  thing 
that  could  contribute  to  form  soil ;  and  one  day  in  each  month 
was  set  apart  for  a  "  bee,"  during  which  little  was  done  but  to 
transport  earth  from  Loam  Island — which  was  far  from  being 
exhausted  yet,  or  even  levelled — and  scattering  it  on  those  hol- 
low spots.  In  this  manner,  a  considerable  extent  of  surface 
nearest  to  the  town  had  already  been  covered,  and  seeded,  and 
planted,  so  that  it  was  now  possible  to  walk  from  the  town  to 
the  crater,  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  be  the  whole 
time  amid  flowering  shrubs,  young. trees,  and  rich  grasses  ! 

.  As  for  the  crater  itself,  it  was  now  quite  a  gem  in  the  way  of 
vegetation.  Its  cocoa-nut  trees  bore  profusely ;  and  its  figSj 
oranges,  limes,  shaddocks,  etc.,  etc.,  were  not  only  abundant,  but 
rich  and  large.     The  Summit  was,  in  spots,  covered  with  de- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  413 

licious  groves,  and  the  openings  were  of  as  dark  a  verdure,  the 
year  round,  as  if  the  place  lay  twenty  degrees  further  from  the 
equator  than  was  actually  the  case.  Here  Kitty,  followed  by  a 
flock  of  descendants,  was  permitted  still  to  rove  at  large,  the 
governor  deeming  her  rights  in  the  place  equal  to  his  own. 
The  plain  of  the  crater  was  mostly  under  tillage,  being  used  as 
a  common  garden  for  all  who  dwelt  in  the  town.  Each  person 
was  taxed  so  many  days,  in  work,  or  in  money,  agreeably  to  a 
village  ordinance,  and  by  such  means  was  the  spot  tilled  ;  in 
return,  each  person,  according  to  a  scale  that  was  regulated  by 
the  amount  of  the  contribution,  was  allowed  to  come  or  send, 
daily,  and  dig  and  carry  away  a  stated  quantity  of  fruits  and 
vegetables.  All  this  was  strictly  regulated  by  a  town  law,  and 
the  gardener  had  charge  of  the  execution  of  the  ordinance  ;  but 
the  governor  had  privately  intimated  to  him  that  there  was  no 
necessity  for  his  being  very  particular,  so  long  as  the  people 
were  so  few,  and  the  products  so  abundant.  The  entire  popula- 
tion of  the  reef  proper  amounted,  at  this  visitation,  to  just  three 
hundred  and  twenty-six  persons,  of  whom  near  a  hundred  were 
under  twelve  years  of  age.  This,  however,  was  exclusive  of 
Kannakas,  but  included  the  absent  seamen,  whose  families  dwelt 
there  permanently. 

The  settlement  at  Dunks'  Cove  has  been  mentioned,  and 
nothing  need  be  said  of  it,  beyond  the  fact  that  its  agriculture 
had  improved  and  been  extended,  its  trees  had  grown,  and  its 
population  increased.  There  was  another  similar  settlement  at 
East  Cove — or  Bay  would  be  the  better  name — which  was  at 
the  place  where  Mark  Woolston  had  found  his  way  out  to  sea, 
by  passing  through  a  narrow  and  half-concealed  inlet.  This  en- 
trance to  the  group  was  now  much  used  by  the  whalers,  who 
fell  in  with  a  great  many  fish  in  the  offing,  and  who  found  it 
very  convenient  to  tow  them  into  this  large  basin  and  cut  them 
up.  Thence  the  blubber  was  sent  down  in  lighters  to  Whaling 
Bight,  to  be  tryed  out.  This  arrangement  saved  a  tow  of  some 
five-and-twenty  miles,  and  often  prevented  a  loss  of  the  fish,  as 
sometimes  occurred  in  the  outside  passage,  by  having  it  blown 


414  the    crater: 

on  an  iron-bound  ooast.  In  consequence  of  these  uses  of  the 
place,  a  settlement  had  grown  up  near  it,  and  it  already  began 
to  look  like  a  spot  to  be  civilized.  As  yet,  however,  it  was  the 
least  advanced  of  all  the  settlements  in  the  group. 

At  the  West  Bay  there  was  a  sort- of  naval  station  and  look- 
out port,  to  watch  the  people  of  the  neighboring  islands.  The 
improvements  did  not  amount  to  much,  however,  being  limited 
to  one  farm,  a  small  battery  that  commanded  the  roads,  and  a 
fortified  house,  which  was  also  a  tavern. 

The  agricultural,  or  strictly  rural  population  of  the  group, 
were  seated  along  the  different  channels  nearest  to  the  reef. 
Some  attention  had  been  paid,  in  the  choice,  to  the  condition 
of  the  soil ;  but,  on  the  whole,  few  unoccupied  spots  could  now 
be  found  within  a  league  of  the  reef,  and  on  any  of  the  princi- 
pal passages  that  communicated  with  the  different  islands. 
There  were  foot-paths,  which  might  be  used  by  horses,  leading 
from  farm  to  farm,  along  the  margins  of  the  channels ;  but  the 
channels  themselves  were  the  ordinary  means  of  communicating 
between  neighbors.  Boats  of  all  sorts  abounded,  and  were  con- 
stantly passing  and  repassing.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  vegeta- 
tion was  luxuriant  and  marvellous.  Trees  were  to  be  seen 
around  the  houses,  that  elsewhere  might  have  required  three 
times  the  number  of  years  that  these  had  existed,  to  attain  the 
same  height. 

The  visitation  terminated  at  the  peak.  This  place,  so  aptly 
likened  to  the  garden  of  Eden,  and  frequently  so  called,  could 
receive  very  little  addition  to  its  picturesque  beauties  from  the 
hand  of  man.  Parts  of  it  were  cultivated,  it  is  true  ;•  enough  to 
supply  its  population  (rather  more  than  three  hundred  souls) 
with  food ;  but  much  the  greater  portion  of  its  surface  was  in 
pasture.  The  buildings  were  principally  of  stones  quarried  out 
of  the  cliffs,  and  were  cool,  as  well  as  solid  edifices.  They  were 
low,  however,  and  of  no  great  size  on  the  ground.  At  the  gover- 
nor's farm — his  private  property — there  was  a  dwelling  of  some 
pretension;  low,  like  all  the  rest,  but  of  considerable  extent. 
Here  Bridget  now  passed  much  of  her  time ;  for  here  it  was 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  415 

thought  best  to  keep  the  children.  So  cool  and  salubrious  was 
the  air  on  the  peak,  that  two  schools  were  formed  here,  and  a 
large  portion  of  the  children  of  the  colony,  of  a  suitable  age, 
were  kept  in  them  constantly.  The  governor  encouraged  this 
plan,  not  only  on  account  of  the  health  of  the  children,  but  be- 
cause great  care  was  taken  to  teach  nothing  but  what  the 
children  ought  to  learn.  The  art  of  reading  may  be  made  an 
instrument  of  evil,  as  well  as  of  good;  and  if  a  people  imbibe 
false  principles — if  they  are  taught,  for  instance,  that  this  or 
that  religious  sect  should  be  tolerated,  or  the  reverse,  because  it 
was  most  or  least  in  conformity  with  certain  political  institu- 
tutions,  thus  rendering  an  institution  of  God's  subservient  to  the 
institution  of  men,  instead  of  making  the  last  subservient  to  the 
first — why,  the  less  they  know  of  letters  the  better.  Every 
thing  false  was  carefully  avoided,  and,  with  no  great  pretensions 
in  the  way  of  acquisitions,  the  schools  of  the  peak  were  made 
to  be  useful,  and  at  least  innocent.  One  thing  the  governor 
strictly  enjoined,  and  that  was  to  teach  these  young  creatures 
that  they  were  fallible  beings,  carefully  avoiding  the  modern 
fallacy  of  supposing  that  an  infallible  whole  could  be  formed  of 
fallible  parts. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  condition  of  the  colony  at  the  period 
which  we  have  now  reached.  Every  thing  appeared  to  be  go- 
ing on  well.  The  Henlopen  arrived,  discharged,  loaded,  and 
went  out  again,  carrying  with  her  the  last  barrel  of  oil  in  the 
bight.  The  whalers  had  a  jubilee,  for  their  adventures  made 
large  returns,  and  the  business  was  carried  on  with  renewed 
spirit.  In  a  word,  the  colony  had  reached  a  point  where  every 
interest  was  said  to  be  prosperous — a  state  of  things  with  com- 
munities, as  with  individuals,  when  they  are,  perhaps,  in  the 
greatest  danger  of  meeting  with  reverses,  by  means  of  their  own 
auuses. 


416  the     crater: 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"Cruel  of  heart,  nnrt -strong  of  arm, 

Prond  in  his  sport,  anil  keen  for  spoil, 
He  little  reck'd  of  good  or  harm, 

Fierce  both  In  mirth  and  toil; 
Yet,  like  a  dog,  conld  fawn,  if  need  there  were; 
Speak  mildly  when  he  would,  or  look  in  fear." 

Dana. — The  Buccaneer. 

After  the  visitation,  the  governor  passed  a  week  at  the  peak, 
with  Bridget  and  his  children.  It  was  the  habit  of  the  wife  to 
divide  her  time  between  the  two  dwellings ;  though  Mark  was 
so  necessary  to  her  as  a  companion,  intellectually,  and  she  was 
so  necessary  to  Mark  for  the  same  reason,  that  they  were  never 
very  long  separated.  Bridget  was  all  heart,  and  she  had  the 
sweetest  temper  imaginable — two  qualities  that  endeared  her 
to  her  husband  far  more  than  her  beauty.  Her  wishes  were 
centred  in  her  little  family,  though  her  kindness  and  benevo- 
lence could  extend  themselves  to  all  around  her.  Anne  she 
loved  as  a  sister  and  as  a  friend  ;  but  it  would  not  have  been 
impossible  for  Bridget  to  be  happy,  had  her  fortune  been  cast 
on  the  reef  with  no  one  else  but  Mark  and  her  two  little  ones. 

The  peak,  proper,  had  got  to  be  a  sort  of  public  promenade 
for  all  who  dwelt  near  it.  Here  the  governor,  in  particular, 
was  much  accustomed  to  walk,  early  in  the  day,  before  the  sun 
got  to  be  too  warm,  and  to  look  out  upon  the  ocean  as  he  pon- 
deicd  on  his  several  duties.  The  spot  had  always  been  pleas- 
ant, on  account  of  the  beauty  and  extent  of  the  view ;  but  a 
new  interest  was  given  to  it  since  the  commencement  of  the 
whaling  operations  in  the  .neighborhood.  Often  had  Bridget 
and  Anne  gone  there  to  see  a  whale  taken ;  it  being  no  uncom- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  417 

mon  thing  for  one  of  the  boys  to  come  shouting  down  from  the 
peak,  with  the  cry  of  "  a  fish — a  fish  !"  It  was  by  no  means  a 
rare  occurrence  for  the  shore-boats  to  take  whales  immediately 
beneath  the  cliffs,  and  the  vessels  could  frequently  be  seen  to 
windward,  working  up  to  their  game.  All  this  movement  gave 
life  and  variety  to  the  scene,  and  contributed  largely  to  the 
spot' 8  becoming  a  favorite  place  of  resort.  The  very  morning 
of  the  day  that  he  intended  to  cross  over  to  the  reef,  on  his  re- 
turn from  the  "progress,"  the  governor  and  his  wife  ascended  to 
the  peak  just  as  the  sun  was  rising.  The  morning  was  perfectly 
lovely  ;  and  never  had  the  hearts  of  our  married  couple  expand- 
ed more  in  love  to  their  fellows,  or  been  more  profoundlv  filled 
with  gratitude  to  God  for  all  his  goodness  to  them,  than  at  that 
moment.  Young  Mark  held  by  his  mother's  hand,  while  the 
father  led  his. little  daughter.  This  was  the  way  they  were  ac- 
customed to  divide  themselves  in  their  daily  excursions,  it  prob- 
ably appearing  to  each  parent  that  the  child  thus  led  was  a 
miniature  image  of  the  other.  On  that  morning,  the  governor 
and  Bridget  were  talking  of  the  bounties  that  Providence  had 
bestowed  on  them,  and  of  the  numberless  delights  of  their 
situation.  Abundance  reigned  on  every  side  ;  in  addition  to 
the  productions  of  the  island,  in  themselves  so  ample  and  gen- 
erous, commerce  had  brought  its  acquisitions,  and,  as  yet,  trade 
occupied  the  place  a  wise  discrimination  would  give  it.  All 
such  interests  are  excellent  as  incidents  in  the  great  scheme  of 
human  happiness,  but  woe  betide  the  people  among  whom 
they  get  to  be  principals!  As  the  man  who  lives  only  to  ac- 
cumulate, is  certain  to  have  all  his  nobler  and  better  feelino-s 
blunted  by  the  grasping  of  cupidity,  and  to  lose  sight  of  the 
gnat  objects  of  his  existence,  so  do  whole  communities  degene- 
rate into  masses  of  corruption,  venality,  and  cupidity,  when  they 
set  up  the  idol  of  commerce  to  worship  in  lieu  of  the  ever-living 
God.  So  far  from  denoting  a  healthful  prosperity,  as  is  too  apt 
to  be  supposed,  no  worse  signs  of  the  condition  of  a  people  can 
be  given,  than -when  all  other  interests  are  made  to  yield  to 
those  of  the  mere  money-getting  sort.  Among  our  colonists, 
18* 


418  the    crater: 

as  yet,  commerce  occupied  its  proper  place  ;  it  was  only  an 
incident  in  their  state  of  society,  and  it  was  so  regarded.  Men 
did  not  search  for  every  means  of  increasing  it,  whether  its 
fraits  were  wanted  or  not,  or  live  in  a  constant  fever  about  its 
results.  The  articles  brought  in  were  all  necessary  to  the  com- 
fort and  civilization  of  the  settlements,  and  those  taken  away 
were  obtained  by  means  of  a  healthful  industry. 

As  they  ascended  the  height,  following  an  easy  path  that  led 
to  the  summit,  the  governor  and  his  wife  conversed  about  the 
late  visitation,  and  of  what  each  had  seen  that  was  striking  and 
worthy  of  comment.  Mark  had  a  council  to  consult,  in  matters 
of  state,  but  most  did  he  love  to  compare  opinions  with  the 
sweet,  matronly  young  creature  at  his  side.  Bridget  was  so 
true  in  all  her  feelings,  so  just  in  her  inferences,  and  so  kindly 
disposed,  that  a  better  counsellor  could  not  have  been  found  at 
the  elbow  of  one  entrusted  with  power. 

"  I  am  more  uneasy  on  the  subject  of  religion  than  on  any 
other,"  observed  the  governor,  as  he  helped  his  little  compan- 
ion up  a  difficult  part  of  the  ascent.  "  While  out,  I  took  great 
pains  to  sound  the  people  on  the  subject,  and  I  found  a  much 
greater  variety  of  opinions,  or  rather  of  feelings,  among  them 
than  I  could  have  believed  possible,  after  the  quiet  time  we 
have  hitherto  had." 

"After  all,  religion  is,  and  ought  to  be,  more  a  matter  of 
feeling  than  of  reason,  Mark." 

"  That  is  true,  in  one  sense,  certainly  ;  but  it  should  be  feel- 
ing subject  to  pi*udence  and  discretion." 

"  Every  thing  should  be  subject  to  those  two  qualities, 
though  so  very  few  are.  I  have  all  along  known  that  the  min- 
istrations of  Mr.  Hornblower  were  only  tolerated  by  a  good 
number  of  our  people.  You,  as  an  Episcopalian,  have  not  been 
so  much  in  the  way  of  observing  this,  for  others  have  been 
guarded  before  you;  but  my  family  is  known  not  to  have  been 
of  that  sect,  and  I  have  been  treated  more  frankly." 

"And  you  have  not  let  me  know  this  important  fact,  Brid- 
get !"  said  the  governor,  a  little  reproachfully. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  429 

"  Why  should  I  have  added  to  your  other  cares,  by  heaping 
this  on  your  shoulder,  dear  Mark  ?  The  thing  could  not  easily 
be  prevented  ;  though  I  may  as  well  tell  you,  now,  what  can- 
not much  longer  be  kept  a  secret — the  Henlopen  will  bring  a 
Methodist  and  a  Presbyterian  clergyman  iu  her,  this  voyage,  if 
any  be  found  willing  to  emigrate ;  and  I  have  heard,  lately, 
that  Friends  expect  a  preacher." 

"  The  law  against  the  admission  of  an  immigrant,  without 
the  consent  of  the  governor  and  council,  is  very  clear  and  pre- 
cise," answered  the  husband,  looking  grave. 

"  That  may  be  true,  my  love,  but  it  would  hardly  do  to  tell 
the  people  they  are  not  to  worship  God  in  the  manner  that  may 
best  satisfy  their  own  consciences." 

"  It  is  extraordinary  that,  as  there  is  but  one  God,  and  one 
Saviour,  there  should  be  more  than  one  mode'  of  worshipping 
them  !" 

"  Not  at  all  extraordinary,  my  dear  Mark,  when  you  come 
to  consider  the  great  diversity  of  opinion  which  exists  among 
men  in  other  matters.  But  Mr.  Hornblower  has  a  fault,  which 
is  a  very  great  fault  in  one  situated  as  he  is,  without  a  com- 
petitor in  the  field.  He  lays  too  much  stress  on  his  particular 
mission  ;  talking  too  much,  and  preaching  too  much  of  his 
apostolic  authority,  as  a  divine." 

"Men  should  never  blink  the  truth,  Bridget;  and  least  of 
all,  in  a  matter  as  grave  as  religion." 

"  Quite  right,  Mark,  when  it  is  necessary  to  say  any  thing 
on  the  subject  at  all.  But,  after  all,  the  apostolic  succession 
is  but  a  means,  and  if  the  end  be  attainable  without  dwelling 
on  these  means,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  better  not  to  conflict 
with  the  prejudices  of  those  we  wish  to  influence.  Remember 
that  there  are  not  fifty  real  Episcopalians  in  all  this  colony, 
where  there  is  only  one  clergyman,  and  he  of  that  sect."' 

"Very  true  ;  but  Mr.  Hornblower  naturally  wishes  to  make 
them  all  churchmen." 

"  It  really  seems  to  me  that  he  ought  to  be  content  with 
making;  them  all  Christians." 


420  the    crater: 

"Perhaps  he  thinks  the  two  identical — necessary  to  each 
other,"  added  the  governor,  smiling  on  his  charming  yonng 
wife,  who,  in  her  own  person,  had  quietly  consented  to  the 
priestly  control  of  her  husband's  clergyman,  though  but  half 
converted  to  the  peculiar  distinctions  of  his  sect,  herself. 

"He  should  remember,  more  especially  in  his  situation,  that 
others  may  not  be  of  the  same  way  of  thinking.  Very  few 
persons,  I  believe,  inquire  into  the  reasons  of  what  they  have 
been  taught  on  the  subject  of  religion,  but  take  things  as  they 
End  them." 

"  And  here  they  find  an  Episcopalian,  and  they  ought  to  re- 
ceive him  confidingly." 

"That  might  do  with  children,  but  most  of  our  people  came 
here  with  their  opinions  formed.  I  wish  Mr.  Ilornblower  were 
less  set  in  his- opinions,  for  I  am  content  to  be  an  Episcopalian 
with  you,  my  dear  husband  ;  certain,  if  the  authority  be  not 
absolutely  necessary,  it  can,  at  least,  do  no  harm." 

This  ended  the  conversation  at  that  time,  for  just  then  the 
party  reached  the  peak.  Little,  however,  did  the  governor  or 
his  pretty  wife  imagine  how  much  the  future  was  connected 
with  the  interest  of  which  they  had  just  been  speaking,  or 
dream  of  the  form  in  which  the  serpent  of  old  was  about  to 
visit  this  Eden  of  modern  times.  But  occurrences  of  another 
character  almost  immediately  attracted  their  attention,  and 
absorbed  all  the  care  and  energy  of  the  colony  for  some  time. 
Scarcely  was  the  party  on  the  peak,  when  the  keen,  lively  eyes 
of  the  younger  Bridget  caught  sight  of  a  strange  sail,  and 
presently  another  and  another  came  into  view.  In  a  word,  no 
less  than  three  vessels  were  in  sight,  the  first  that  had  ever  been 
seen  in  those  seas,  with  the  exception  of  the  regular  and  well- 
known  craft  of  the  colony.  These  strangers  were  a  ship  and 
two  brigs — evidently  vessels  of  some  size,  particularly  the  first — ■ 
and  they  were  consorts,  keeping  in  company,  and  sailing  in  a 
sort  of  line,  which  would  seem  to  denote  more  of  order  and 
concert  than  it  was  usual  to  find  among  merchantmen.  They 
were  all  on  a  wind,  standing  to  the  southward  and  eastward, 


OR,     VULCAN     S     PEAK.  421 

and  wore  now,  when  first  seen,  fairly  within  the  strait  between 
the  peak  and  the  group,  unquestionably  in  full  sight  of  both, 
and  distant  from  each  some  five  or  six  leagues.  With  the  wind 
as  it  was,  nothing  would  have  been  easier  for  them  all,  than  to 
fetch  far  enough  to  windward  to  pass  directly  beneath  the  west- 
ern cliffs,  and,  consequently,  directly  in  front  of  the  cove. 

Luckily,  there  were  several  lads  on  the  peak,  early  as  was  the 
hour,  who  had  ascended  in  quest  of  the  berries  of  certain  plants 
that  flourished  there.  The  governor  instantly  despatched  one 
of  these  lads  with  a  note  to  Heaton,  written  in  pencil,  in 
which  he  desired  that  functionary  to  send  a  messenger  down 
to  the  cove,  to  prevent  any  of  the  fishermen  from  goino- 
out ;  it  being  the  practice  of  many  of  the  boys  to  fish  in  the 
shade  of  the  cliffs,  to  leeward,  ere  the  sun  rose  high  enouo-h  to 
make  the  heat  oppressive.  Hitherto,  the  existence  of  the  cove, 
as  it  was  believed,  remained  unknown  even  to  the  Kanhakas, 
and  a  stringent  order  existed,  that  no  boat  should  ever  enter  it 
so  long  as  craft  were  in  sight  which  might  have  any  of  those 
men  on  board  it.  Indeed,  the  whole  peak  was  just  as  much  a 
place  of  mystery,  to  all  but  the  colonists,  as  it  was  the  day 
when  Waally  and  his  followers  were  driven  away  by  their  su- 
perstitious dread. 

Having  taken  this  precaution,  and  kept  the  other  lads  to  send 
down  with  any  further  message  he  might  deem  necessary,  the 
governor  now  gave  all  his  attention  to  the  strangers.  A  couple 
of  glasses  were  always  kept  on  the  peak,  and  the  best  of  these 
was  soon  in  his  hand,  and  levelled  at  the  ship.  Bridget  stood 
at  her  husband's  side,  eager  to  hear  his  opinion,  but  waiting 
with  woman's  patience  for  the  moment  it  might  be  given  with 
safety.  At  length  that  instant  came,  and  the  half-terrified  wife 
questioned  the  husband  on  the  subject  of  his  discoveries. 

"  What  is  it,  Mark  ?"  said  Bridget,  almost  afraid  of  the  an- 
swer she  was  so  desirous  of  obtaining.     "  Is  it  the  Rancocus  .-" 

"  If  the  Rancocas,  love,  be  certain  she  would  not  be  coming 
hither.  The  ship  is  of  some  size,  and  appears  to  be  armed  ; 
though  I  cannot  make  out  her  nation. " 


422  the    crater: 

"It  is  not  surprising  that  she  should  be  armed,  Marie.  You 
know  that  the  papers  Captain  Saunders  brought  us  were  filled 
with  accounts  of  battles  fought  in  Europe." 

"It  is  very  true  that  the  whole  world  is  in  arms,  though  that 
does  not  explain  the  singular  appearance  of  these  three  vessels, 
in  this  remote  corner  of  the  earth.  It  is  possible  they  may  be 
discovery  ships,  for  wars  do  not  always  put  a  stop  to  such  en- 
terprises. They  appear  to  be  steering  for  the  peak,  which  is  some 
proof  that  they  do  not  know  of  the  existence  of  the  settlements 
in  the  group.  There  they  might  anchor;  but  here,  they  cannot 
without  entering  the  cove,  of  which  they  can  know  nothing." 

"  If  discovery  vessels,  would  they  not  naturally  come  first  to 
the  peak,  as  the  most  striking  object  ?" 

"  In  that  you  are  probably  right,  Bridget,  though  I  think  the 
commodore  would  be  apt  to  divide  his  force,  having  three 
ships,  and  send  one,  at  least,  toward  the  group,  even  if  he  came 
hither  with  the  others.  No  nation  but  England,  however, 
would  be  likely  to  have  vessels  of  that  character  out,  in  such  a 
war,  and  these  do  not  look  like  English  craft,  at  all.  Besides, 
we  should  have  heard  something  of  such  an  expedition,  by 
means  of  the  papers,  were  there  one  out.  It  wojld  be  bad 
enough  to  be  visited  by  explorers ;  yet  I  fear  these  are  worse 
than  explorers." 

Bridget  very  well  understood  her  husband's  apprehensions  on 
he  subject  of  exploring  parties.  As  yet,  the  colony  had  got  on 
very  well,  without  having  the  question  of  nationality  called  into 
the  account ;  but  it  had  now  become  so  far  important  as,  in 
a  small  way,  to  be  a  nursery  for  seamen;  and  there  was  much 
reason  to  fear  that  the  ruthless  policy  of  the  strong  would,  in 
the  event  of  a  discovery,  make  it  share  the  usual  fortunes  of  the 
weak.  It  was  on  account  of  this  dread  of  foreign  interference, 
that  so  much  pains  had  been  taken  to  conceal  the  history  and 
state  of  the  little  community,  the  strongest  inducements  being 
placed  before  all  the  seamen  who  went  to  Europe,  to  be  discreet 
and  silent.  As  for  the  Kannakas,  they  did  not  know  enough 
to  be  very  dangerous,  and  could  not,  at  all,  give  any  accurate 


or,    vtjlcan's    peak.  423 

idea  of  the  position  of  the  islands,  had  they  been  better  ac 
quainted  than  they  were  with  their  relation  to  other  communi- 
ties, and  desirous  of  betraying  them. 

The  governor  now  sent  another  note  down  to  Heaton,  with  a 
request  that  orders  might  be  forwarded  along  the  cliffs  for 
every  one  to  keep  out  of  sight,  as  well  as  directions  that  care 
should  be  taken  not  to  let  any  smoke  even  be  seen  to  rise  from 
the  plain.  This  message  was  speedily  followed  by  another, 
directing  that  all  the  men  should  be  assembled,  and  the  usual 
preparations  made  for  defence.  He  also  asked  if  it  were  not 
possible  to  send  a  whale-boat  out,  by  keeping  immediately  un- 
der the  cliffs,  and  going  well  to  windward,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  get  a  communication  across  to  the  reef,  in  order  to  put  the 
people  on  their  guard  in  that  quarter.  One  or  two  whale- 
boats  were  always  in  the  cove,  and  there  were  several  crews  of 
capital  oarsmen  among  the  people  of  the  peak.  If  such  a  boat 
could  be  prepared,  it  was  to  be  held  in  readiness,  as  the  gover- 
nor himself  might  deem  it  expedient  to  cross  the  strait. 

All  this  time  the  strange  vessels  were  not  idle,  but  drew 
nearer  to  the  peak,  at  a  swift  rate  of  sailing.  It  was  not  usual 
for  mere  merchantmen  to  be  as  weatherly,  or  to  make  as  much 
way  through  the  water,  as  did  all  these  craft.  On  account  of 
the  gnat  elevation  at  which  the  governor  stood,  they  appeared 
small,  but  he  was  too  much  accustomed  to  his  situation  not  to 
know  how  to  make  the  necessary  allowances.  After  examin- 
ing her  well,  when  she  was  within  a  league  of  the  cliffs,  he 
came  to  the  opinion  that  the  ship  was  a  vessel  of  about  six 
hundred  tons,  and  that  she  was  both  armed  and  stronody 
manned.  So  far  as  he  could  judge,  by  the  bird's-eye  view  he 
got,  he  fancied  she  was  even  frigate-built,  and  had  a  regular 
gun-deck.  In  that  age  such  craft  were  very  common,  sloops 
of  war  having  that  construction  quite  as  often  as  that  of  the 
more  modern  deep-waisted  vessel.  As  for  the  briu-s,  thev  were 
much  smaller  than  their  consort,  being  of  les<  than  two  hun- 
dred tons  each,  apparently,  but  also  armed  and  strongly  man- 
ned.    The  armaments  were  now  easily  to  be  seen,   as  indeed 


424  THE      CRATJSh. 

were  the  crews,  each  and  all  the  vessels  showing  a  great  many 
men  aloft,  to  shorten  sail  as  they  drew  nearer  to  the  island. 

One  thing  gave  the  governor  great  satisfaction.  The  stran- 
gers headed  well  up,  as  if  disposed  to  pass  to  windward  of  the 
cliffs,  from  which  he  inferred  that  none  on  board  them  knew 
any  thing  of  the  existence  or  position  of  the  cove.  So  much 
care  had  been  taken,  indeed,  to  conceal  this  spot  from  even  the 
Kannakas,  that  no  great  apprehension  existed  of  its  being 
known  to  any  beyond  the  circle  of  the  regular  colonists.  As 
the  ship  drew  still  nearer,  and  came  more  under  the  cliffs,  the 
governor  was  enabled  to  get  a  better  view  of  her  construction, 
and  of  the  nature  of  her  armament.  That  she  was  frigate-built 
was  now  certain,  and  the  strength  of  her  crew  became  still 
more  evident,  as  the  men  were  employed  in  shortening  and 
making  sail  almost  immediately  under  his  eye. 

Great  care  was  taken  that  no  one  should  be  visible  on  the 
peak.  Of  the  whole  island,  that  was  the  only  spot  Avhcre 
there  was  much  danger  of  a  man's  being  seen  from  the  ocean  ; 
for  the  fringe  of  wood  had  been  religiously  preserved  all 
around  the  cliffs.  But,  with  the  exception  of  the  single  tree 
already  mentioned,  the  peak  was  entirely  naked  ;  and,  in  that 
clear  atmosphere,  the  form  of  a  man  might  readily  be  distin- 
guished even  at  a  much  greater  elevation.  But  the  glasses 
were  levelled  at  the  strangers  from  covers  long  before  prepared 
for  that  purpose,  and  no  fear  was  entertained  of  the  look-out, 
who  had  their  instructions,  and  well  understood  the  importance 
of  caution. 

At  length  the  vessels  got  so  near  as  to  allow  of  the  glasses 
being  pointed  directly  down  upon  the  upper  deck  of  the  ship, 
in  particular.  The  strangers  had  a  little  difficulty  in  weather- 
ing the  northern  extremity  of  The  island,  and  they  came  much 
closer  to  the  cliffs  than  they  otherwise  would,  in  order  to  do 
so.  While  endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  country  of  the  ship, 
by  examining  her  people,  the  governor  fancied  he  saw  some 
natives  on  board  her.  At  first,  he  supposed  there  might  bo 
Kannakas,   or  Mowrees,  among  the  crow  ;  but  a  better  look 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  425 

assured  him  that  the  Indians  present  were  not  acting  in  the 
character  of  sailors  at  all.  They  appeared  to  be  chiefs,  and 
chiefs  in  their  war-dresses.  This  fact  induced  a  still  closer  ex- 
amination, until  the  governor  believed  that  he  could  trace  the 
person  of  Waally  among  them.  The  distance  itself  was  not 
such  as  to  render  it  difficult  to  recognize  a  form,  or  a  face, 
when  assisted  by  the  glass ;  but  the  inverted  position  of  all  on 
board  the  ship  did  make  a  view  less  certain  than  might  other- 
wise have  been  the  case.  Still  the  governor  grew,  at  each  in- 
stant, more  and  more  assured  that  "Waally  was  there,  as  indeed 
he  believed  his  son  to  be,  also.  By  this  time,  one  of  the  men 
who  knew  the  chief  had  come  up  to  the  peak,  with  a  message 
from  Heaton,  and  he  was  of  the  same  opinion  as  the  governor, 
after  taking  a  good  look  through  the  best  glass.  Bridget,  too, 
had  seen  the  formidable  Waally,  and  she  gave  itfas  her  opinion 
that  he  was  certainly  on  board  the  ship.  This  was  considered 
as  a  most  important  discovery.  If  Waally  were  there,  it  was 
for  no  purpose,  that  was  friendly  to  the  colonists.  The  grn  Ige 
he  owed  the  last  was  enduring  and  deadly.  Nothing  but  the 
strong  arm  of  power  coidd  suppress,  its  outbreaking*,  or  had 
kept  him  in  subjection,  for  the  last  five  years.  Of  late,  the 
intercourse  between  the  two  groups  had  not  been  great  ;  and  it 
was  now  several  months  since  any  craft  had  been  across  to 
Ooroony's  islands,  from  the  reef.  There  had  been  sufficient 
time,  consequently,  for  great  events  to  have  been  planned  and 
executed,  and  yet  that  the  colonists  should  know  nothinw  of 
them. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  penetrate  further  into  this  singular 
mystery,  so  long  as  the  strangers  kept  off  the  land.  This  they 
did,  of  course,  the  three  vessels  passing  to  windward  of  the 
peak,  in  a  line  ahead,  going  to  the  southward,  and  standing 
along  the  cliffs  on  an  easy  bowline.  The  governor  now  sent 'a 
whale-boat  out  of  the  cove,  under  her  sails,  with  orders  to  stand 
directly  across  to  the  reef,  earning  the  tidings,  and  bearing  a 
letter  of  instructions  to  Pennock  and  such  members  of  the 
council  as  might  be  present.     The  letter  was  short,  but  it  rather 


426  the    crater: 

assumed  the  probability  of  hostilities,  while  it  admitted  that 
there  was  a  doubt  of  the  issue.  A  good  look-out  was  to  be 
kept,  at  all  events,  and  the  forces  of  the  colony  were  to  be  as- 
sembled. The  governor  promised  to  cross,  himself,  as  soon  as 
the  strangers  quitted  the  neighborhood  of  the  peak. 

In  the  meantime  Heaton  mounted  a  horse,  and  kept  com- 
pany with  the  squadron  as  it  circled  the  island.  From  time  to 
time  he  sent  messages  to  the  governor,  in  order  to  let  him 
know  the  movements  of  the  strangers.  While  this  was  going 
on  the  men  were  all  called  in  from  their  several  occupations, 
and  the  prescribed  arrangements  were  made  for  defence.  As  a 
circuit  of  the  island  required  several  hours,  there  was  time  for 
every  thing ;  and  the  whale-boat  was  fairly  out  of  sight  from 
even  the  peak,  when  Heaton  despatched  a  messenger  to  say 
that  the  squadron  had  reached  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
island,  and  was  standing  off  south-east,  evidently  steering  toward 
the  volcano. 

Doubts  now  began  to  be  felt  whether  the  colonists  would  see 
any  thing  more  of  the  strangers.  It  was  natural  that  navigators 
should  examine  unknown  islands,  cursorily  at  least ;  but  it  did 
not  follow  that,  if  trade  was  their  object,  they  should  delay  their 
voyage  in  order  to  push  their  investigations  beyond  a  very 
moderate  limit.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  undoubted  presence 
of  savages  in  the  ship,  and  the  strong  probability  that  Waally 
was  one  of  them,  the  governor  would  now  have  had  hopes  that 
he  had  seen  the  last  of  his  visitors.  Nevertheless,  there  was 
the  chance  that  these  vessels  would  run  down  to  Rancocus 
Island,  where  not  only  might  a  landing  be  easily  effected,  but 
where  the  mills,  the  brick-yards,  and  indeed  the  principal  clus- 
ter of  houses,  were  all  plainly  to  be  seen  from  the  offing.  No 
sooner  was  it  certain,  therefore,  that  the  strangers  had  stood 
away  to  the  southward  and  eastward,  than  another  boat  was 
sent  across  to  let  the  millers,  brick-makers,  stone-quarriers,  and 
lumbermen  know  that  they  might  receive  guests  who  would 
require  much  discretion  in  their  reception. 

The  great  policy  of  secrecy  was  obviously  in  serious  danger 


or,    vul  can's    peak.  427 

of  being  defeated.  How  the  existence  of  the  colony  was  to  be 
concealed,  should  the  vessels  remain  any  time  in  the  group,  it 
was  not  easy  to  see ;  and  that  advantage  the  governor  and  Hea- 
ton,  both  of  whom  attached  the  highest  importance  to  it,  were 
now  nearly  ready  to  abandon  in  despair.  Still,  neither  thought 
of  yielding  even  this  policy  until  the  last  moment,  and  circum- 
stances rendered  it  indispensable ;  for  so  much  reflection  had 
been  bestowed  on  that,  as  well  as  on  every  other  interest  of  the 
colony,  that  it  was  not  easy  to  unsettle  any  part  of  their  plans — ■ 
in  the  opinion  of  its  rulers,  at  least. 

A  sharp  look-out  for  the  squadron  was  kept,  not  only  from 
the  peak,  but  from  the  southern  end  of  the  cliffs,  all  that  day. 
The  vessels  were  seen  until  they  were  quite  near  to  the  volcano, 
when  their  sudden  disappearance  was  ascribed  to  the  circum- 
stance of  their  shortening  sail.  Perhaps  they  anchored.  This 
could  only  be  conjecture,  however,  as  no  boat  could  be  trusted 
out  to  watch  them,  near  by.  Although  there  was  no  anchorage 
near  the  peak,  it  was  possible  for  a  vessel  to  anchor  anywhere 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  volcano.  The  island  of  Vulcan's  Peak 
appears  to  have  been  projected  upward,  out  of  the  depths  of 
the  ocean,  in  one  solid,  perpendicular  wall,  leaving  no  shallow 
water  near  it ;  but  as  respects  the  other  islands,  the  coast 
shoaled  gradually  in  most  places  ;  though  the  eastern  edge  of 
the  group  was  an  exception  to  the  rule.  Still,  vessels  could 
anchor  in  any  or  all  the  coves  and  roadsteads  of  the  group;  and 
there  the  holding  ground  was  unusually  good,  being  commonly 
mud  and  sand,  and  these  without  rocks. 

The  remainder  of  the  day,  and  the  whole  of  the  succeeding 
Bight,  were  passed  with  much  anxiety  by  the  governor  and  his 
friends.  Time  was  given  to  receive  an  answer  to  the  messages 
sent  across  to  the  reef,  but  nothing  was  seen  of  the  strangers, 
when  day  returned.  The  boat  that  came  in  from  the  reef  re- 
ported that  the  coast  was  clear  to  the  northward.  It  also 
brought  a  letter,  stating  that  notices  had  been  sent  to  all  the 
different  settlements,  and  that  the  Anne  had  sailed  to  windward, 
t"  call  in  all  the  fishermen,  and  to  go  off  to  the  nearest  whaling- 


428  .  the    crater: 

ground,  in  order  to  communicate  the  state  of  things  in  the 
colony  to  Captain  Betts  and  his  companions,  who  were  out. 
The  Dragon  and  the  Jonas,  when  last  heard  from,  were  cruising 
only  about  a  hundred  miles  to  windward  of  the  group,  and  it 
was  thought  important,  on  various  accounts,  that  they  should 
be  at  once  apprised  of  the  arrival  of  the  strangers. 

The  governor  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  report  of  what 
had  been  done,  and  this  so  much  the  more  because  it  superseded 
the  necessity  of  his  quitting  the  peak,  just  at  the  moment. 
The  elevation  of  the  mountain  was  of  so  much  use  as  a  look-out, 
that  it  was  every  way  desirable  to  profit  by  it,  until  the  time 
for  observing  was  passed,  and  that  for  action  had  succeeded  in 
its  stead.  Of  course,  some  trusty  person  was  kept  constantly 
on  the  peak,  looking  out  for  the  strangers,  though  the  day 
passed  without  one  of  them  being  seen.  Early  next  morning. 
however,  a  whale-boat  arrived  from  liancocus,  with  four  stout 
oarsmen  in  it.  They  had  left  the  station  after  dark,  and  had 
been  pulling  up  against  the  trades  most  of  the  intervening  time. 
The  news  they  brought  was  not  only  alarming,  but  it  occasioned 
a  great  deal  of  surprise. 

It  seemed  that  the  three  strange  vessels  appeared  off  the 
point,  at  Rancocus  Island,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  preced- 
ing day.  It  was  supposed  that  they  had  run  across  from  the 
volcano  in  the  darkness,  after  having  been  lost  sight  of  from  the 
peak.  Much  prudence  was  observed  by  the  colonists,  as  soon 
as  light  let  them  into  the  secret  of  their  having  such  unknown 
neighbors.  Bigelow  happening  to  be  there,  and  being  now  a 
man  of  a  good  deal  of  consideration  with  his  fellow-citizens,  he 
assumed  the  direction  of  matters.  All  the  women  and  children 
ascended  into  the  mountains,  where  secret  places  had  long  been 
provided  for  such  an  emergency,  by  clearing  out  and  rendering 
two  or  three  caves  habitable,  and  where  food  and  water  were  at 
hand.  Thither  most  of  the  light  articles  of  value  were  also  trans- 
ported. Luckily,  Bigelow  had  caused  all  the  saws  at  the  mill  to 
be  taken  down  and  secreted.  A  saw  was  an  article  not  to  be 
replaced,  short  of  a  voyage  to  Europe,  even  ;  for  in  that  day 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  429 

saws  were  not  manufactured  in  America ;  nor,  indeed,  was 
scarcely  any  thing  else. 

When  he  had  given  his  directions,  Bigelow  went  alone  to 
the  point,  to  meet  the  strangers,  who  hatl  anchored  their  vessels, 
and  had  lauded  in  considerable  force.  On  approaching  the 
place,  he  found  about  a  hundred  men  ashore,  all  well  armed, 
and  seemingly  governed  by  a  sort  of  military  authority.  On 
presenting  himself  before  this  party,  Bigelow  was  seized  and 
taken  to  its  leader,  who  was  a  sea-faring  man,  by  his  appear- 
ance, of  a  fierce  aspect  and  most  severe  disposition.  This  man 
could  speak  no  English.  Bigelow  tried  him  in  Spanish,  but 
could  get  no  answer  out  of  him  in  that  tongue  either ;  though 
he  suspected  that  what  he  said  was  understood.  At  length, 
one  was  brought  forward  who  could  speak  English,  and  that  so 
well  as  to  leave  little  doubt  in  Bigelow's  mind  about  the 
stranger's  being  either,  an  Englishman  or  an  American.  Com- 
munications between  the  parties  were  commenced  through  this 
interpreter. 

Bigelow  was  closely  questioned  touching  the  number  of  peo- 
ple in  the  different  islands,  the  number  of  vessels  they  pos- 
sessed, the  present  situation  and  employments  of  those  vessels, 
the  nature  of  their  cargoes,  the  places  where  the  property 
transported  in  the  vessels  was  kept,  and,  in  short,  every  thing 
that  bore  directly  on  the  wealth  and  movable  possessions  of  the 
people.  From  the  nature  of  these  questions,  as  well  as  from  the 
appearance  of  the  strangers,  Bigelow  had,  at  once,  taken  up  the 
notion  that  they  were  pirates.  In  the  eastern  seas,  piracies 
were  often  committed  on  a  large  scale,  and  there  was  nothing 
violent  in  this  supposition.  The  agitated  state  of  the  world, 
moreover,  rendered  piracies  much  more  likely  to  go  unpun- 
ished then  than  would  be  the  case  to-day,  and  it  was  well 
known  that  several  vessels  often  cruised  together,  when  engaged 
in  these  lawless  pursuits,  in  those  distant  quarters  of  the  world. 
Then  the  men  were  evidently  of  different  races,  though  Bigelow 
was  of  opinion  that  most  of  them  came  from  the  East  Indies, 
the  coasts,  or  the  islands.     The  officers  were  mostly  Europeans 


430  the    crater: 

by  birth',  or  the  descendants  of  Europeans  ;  but  two-thirds  of 
the  people  whom  he  saw  were  persons  of  eastern  extraction  ; 
some  appeared  to  be  Lascars,  and  others  what  sailors  call 
Chinamen. 

Bigelow  was  very  guarded  in  his  answers ;  so  much  so,  in- 
deed, as  to  give  great  dissatisfaction  to  his  interrogators. 
About  the  peak  he  assumed  an  air  of  great  mystery,  and  said 
none  but  birds  could  get  on  it;  thunder  was  sometimes  heard 
coming  out  of  its  cliffs,  but  man  could  not  get  up  to  see  what 
the  place  contained.  This  account  was  received  with  marked 
interest,  and,  to  Bigelow's  surprise,  it  did  not  appear  to  awaken 
the  distrust  he  had  secretly  apprehended  it  might.  On  the 
contrary,  he  was  asked  to  repeat  his  account,  and  all  who  heard 
it,  though  a  good  deal  embellished  this  time,  appeared  disposed 
to  believe  what  he  said.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  the  poor 
fellow  undertook  to  mystify  a  little  concerning  the  reef;  but 
here  he  soon  found  himself  met  with  plump  denials.  In  order 
to  convince  him  that  deception  would  be  of  no  use,  he  was  now 
taken  a  short  distance  and  confronted  with  Waally  ! 

Bigelow  no  sooner  saw  the  dark  countenance  of  the  chief, 
than  he  knew  he  was  in  bad  hands.  From  that  moment,  he 
abandoned  all  attempts  at  concealment,  the  condition  of  the 
peak  excepted,  and  had  recourse  to  an  opposite  policy.  He 
now  exaggerated  every  thing ;  the  number  and  force  of  the 
vessel,  giving  a  long  list  of  names  that  were  accurate  enough, 
though  the  fact  was  concealed  that  they  mostly  belonged  to 
boats;  and  swelling  the  force  of  the  colony  to  something  more 
than  two  thousand  fighting  men.  The  piratical  commander, 
who  went  by  the  name  of  "  the  admiral"  among  his  followers, 
was  a  good  deal  startled  by  this  information,  appealing  to 
Waally  to  know  whether  it  might  be  relied  on  for  truth.  Waal- 
ly could  not  say  yes  or  no  to  this  question.  He  had  heard  that 
the  colonists  were  much  more  numerous  than  they  were  former- 
ly ;  but  how  many  fighting  men  they  could  now  muster  was 
more  than  he  could  say.  He  knew  that  they  were  enormously 
rich,  and  among  other  articles  of  value,   possessed  materials 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  431 

sufficient  for  fitting  out  as  many  ships  as  they  pleased.  It  was 
this  last  information  that  had  brought  the  strangers  to  the 
group ;  for  they  were  greatly  in  want  of  naval  stores  of  almost 
all  sorts. 

The  admiral  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  push  his  inquiries 
any  further  at  that  moment ;  apparently,  he  did  not  expect  to 
find  much  at  Rancocus  Island,  Waally  having,  most  probably, 
let  him  into  the  secret  of  its  uses.  The  houses  and  mills  were 
visited  and  plundered ;  a  few  hogs  and  one  steer  were  shot ; 
but  luckily,  most  of  the  animals  had  been  driven  into  a  retired 
valley.  The  saw-mill  was  set  on  fire  in  pure  wantonness,  and 
it  was  burned  to  the  ground.  A  new  grist-mill  escaped,  merely 
because  its  position  was  not  known.  A  great  deal  of  injury 
was  inflicted  on  the  settlement  merely  for  the  love  of  mischief, 
and  a  brick-kiln  was  actually  blown  up  in  order  to  enjoy  the 
fun  of  seeing  the  bricks  scattered  in  the  air.  In  short,  the 
place  was  almost  destroyed  in  one  sense,  though  no  attempt 
was  made  to  injure  Bigelow.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  scarcely 
watched,  and  it  was  no  sooner  dark  than  he  collected  a  crew, 
got  into  his  own  whale-boat,  and  came  to  windward  to  report 
what  was  going  on  to  the  governor. 


432  the    crater: 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 

"All  gone!  'tis  ours  the  goodly  land — 
Look  round — the  heritage  behold ; 
Go  forth — upon  the  mountains  stand  ; 
Then,  if  ye  can,  be  cold." 

Spragub. 

Little  doubt  remained  in  the  mind  of  the  governor,  after  he 
had  heard  and  weighed  the  whole  of  Bigelow's  story,  that  he 
had  to  deal  with  one  of  those  piratical  squadrons  that*  formerly 
infested  the  eastern  seas — a  sort  of  successor  of  the  old  buccan- 
eers. The  men  engaged  in  such  pursuits  were  usually  of  differ- 
ent nations,  and  they  were  always  of  the  most  desperate  and 
ruthless  characters.  The  fact  that  Waally  was  with  this  party 
indicated  pretty  plainly  the  manner  in  which  they  had  heard  of 
the  colony,  and,  out  of  all  question,  that  truculent  chief  had 
made  his  own  bargain  to  come  in  for  a  share  of  the  profits. 

It  was  highly  probable  that  the  original  object  of  these  free- 
booters had  been  to  plunder  the  pearl-fishing  vessels,  and 
hearing  at  their  haunts  of  Betto's  group,  they  had  found  their 
way  across  to  it,  where,  meeting  with  Waally,  they  had  been 
incited  to  their  present  enterprise. 

Little  apprehension  was  felt  for  the  peak.  A  vessel  might 
hover  about  it  a  month,  and  never  find  the  cove ;  and  should 
the  pirates  even  make  the  discovery,  such  were  the  natural  ad- 
vantages of  the  islanders,  that  the  chances  were  as  twenty  to 
one  they  would  drive  off  their  assailants.  Under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, therefore,  and  on  the  most  mature  reflection,  the 
governor  determined  to  cross  over  to  the  reef  and  assume  the 
charge  of  the  defence  of  that  most  important  position.  Should 
the  reef  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  it  might  require  years 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  433 

to  repair  the  loss ;  or,  what  would  be  still  more  afflicting,  the 
freebooters  might  hold  the  place,  and  use  it  as  a  general  rendez- 
vous, in  their  nefarious  pursuits.  Accordingly,  after  taking  a 
most  tender  leave  of  his  wife  and  children,  Governor  "Woolston 
left  the  cove,  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  crossing  in  a  whale- 
boat  rigged  with  a  sail.  Bridget  wished  greatly  to  accompany 
her  husband,  but  to  this  the  latter  would  on  no  account  consent, 
for  he  expected  serious  service,  and  thought  it  highly  probable 
that  most  of  the  females  would  have  to  be  sent  over  to  the  peak, 
for  security.  Finding  that  her  request  could  not  be  granted, 
and  feeling  fully*  the  propriety  of  her  husband's  decision,  Mrs. 
Woolston  so  far  commanded  her  feelings  as  to  set  a  good  exam- 
ple to  other  wives,  as  became  her  station. 

When  about  mid-channel,  the  whale-boat  made  a  sail  coming 
down  before  the  wind,  and  apparently  steering  for  South  Cape 
as  well  as  herself.  This  turned  out  to  be  the  Anne,  which 
had  gone  to  windward  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  fishermen,  and 
was  now  on  her  return.  She  had  warned  so  many  boats  as  to 
be  certain  they  would  spread  the  notice,  and  she  had  spoken 
the  Dragon,  which  had  gone  in  quest  of  the  Jonas  and  the 
Abraham,  both  of  which  were  a  few  .leagues  to  windward. 
Captain  Betts,  however,  had  come  on  board  the  Anne,  and  now 
joined  his  old  friend,  the  governor,,  when  about  four  leagues 
from  the  cape. 

Glad  enough  was  Mark  Woolston  to  meet  with  the  Anne, 
and  to  find  so  good  an  assistant  on  board  her.  That  schoon- 
er, which  was  regular  pilot-boat  built,  was  the  fastest  craft 
about  the  islands,  and  it  was  a  great  matter  to  put  head- 
quarters on  board  her.  The  Martha  came  next,  and  the  whale- 
boat  was  sent  in  to  find  that  sloop,  which  was  up  at  the  reef, 
and  to  order  her  out  immediately  to  join  the  governor.  Pen- 
nock  was  the  highest  in  authority  in  the  group  after  the  gov- 
ernor, and  a  letter  was  sent  to  him,  apprising  him  of  all  that 
was  known,  and  exhorting  him  to  vigilance  and  activity ;  point- 
ing out,  somewhat  in  detail,  the  different  steps  he  was  to  take, 
in  order  that  no  time  might  be  lost.  This  done,  the  governor 
19 


434  the    crater: 

stood  in  toward  "Whaling  Bight,  in-order  to  ascertain  the  state 
of  things  at  that  point. 

The  alarm  had  been  given  all  over  the  group,  and  when  the 
Anne  reached  her  place  of  destination,  it  was  ascertained  that 
the  men  had  been  assembled  under  arms,  and  every  precaution 
taken.  But  Whaling  Bight  was  the  great  place  of  resort  of  the 
Kannakas,  aud  there  were  no  less  than  forty  of  those  men  there 
at  that  moment,  engaged  in  trying  out  oil,  or  in  fitting  craft  for 
the  fisheries.  No  one  could  say  which  side  these  fellows  would 
take,  should  it  appear  that  their  proper  chiefs  were  engaged 
with  the  strangers ;  though,  otherwise,  the  colonists  counted  on 
their  assistance  with  a  good  deal  of  confidence.  On  all  ordi- 
nary occasions,  a  reasonably  fair  understanding  existed  between 
the  colonists  and  Kannakas.  It  is  true,  that  the  former  were  a 
little  too  fond  of  getting  as  much  work  as  possible,  for  rather 
small  compensations,  out  of  these  semi-savages ;  but  as  articles 
of  small  intrinsic  value  still  went  a  great  way  in  these  bargains, 
no  serious  difficulty  had  yet  arisen  out  of  the  different  transac- 
tions. Some  persons  thought  that  the  Kannakas  had  risen  in 
their  demands,  and  put  less  value  on  a  scraj)  of  old  iron  than 
had  been  their  original  way  of  thinking,  now  that  so  many  of 
their  countrymen  had  been  back  and  forth  a  few  times,  between 
the  group  and  other  parts#  of  the  world ;  a  circumstance  that 
was  very  naturally  to  be  expected.  But  the  governor  knew 
mankind  too  well  not  to  understand  that  all  unequal  associations 
lead  to  discontent.  Men  may  get  to  be  so  far  accustomed  to 
inferior  stations,  and  to  their  duties  and  feelings,  as  to  consider 
their  condition  the  result  of  natural  laws ;  but  the  least  taste  of 
liberty  begets  a  jealousy  and  distrust  that  commonly  raises  a 
barrier  between  the  master  and  servant,  that  has  a  never-dying 
tendency  to  keep  them  more  or  less  alienated  in  feeling.  "When 
the  colonists  began  to  cast  about  them,  and  to  reflect  on  the 
chances  of  their  being  sustained  by  these  hirelings  in  the  com- 
ing strife,  very  few  of  them  could  be  sufficiently  assured  that 
the  very  men  who  had  now  eaten  of  their  bread  and  salt,  in 
tome  instances,  for  years,  were  to  be  relied  on  in  a  crisis.     In- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  435 

deed,  the  number  of  these  Kannakas  was  a  cause  of  serious  em- 
barrassment with  the  governor,  when  he  came  to  reflect  on  his 
strength,  and  on  the  means  of  employing  it. 

Full)7  two  hundred  of  the  savages,  or  semi-savages,  were  at 
that  moment  either  scattered  about  among  the  farm-houses,  or 
working  at  the  different  places  where  shipping  lay,  or  were  out 
whaling  to  windward.  Now,  the  whole  force  of  the  colony, 
confining  it  to  fighting-men,  and  including  those  who  were  ab- 
sent, was  just  three  hundred  and  sixty-three.  Of  these,  three 
hundred  might,  possibly,  on  an  emergency,  be  brought  to  act 
on  any  given  point,  leaving  the  remainder  in  garrisons.  But  a 
straggling  body  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  these  Kannakas,  left 
in  the  settlements,  or  on  the  reef,  or  about  the  crater,  while  the 
troops  were  gone  to  meet  the  enemy,  presented  no  very  pleas- 
ing picture  to  the  mind  of  the  governor.  He  saw  the  necessi- 
ty of  collecting  these  men  together,  and  of  employing  them  ac- 
tively in  the  service  of  the  colony,  as  the  most  effectual  mode 
of  preventing  their  getting  within  the  control  of  Waally.  This 
duty  was  confided  to  Bigelow,  who  was  sent  to  the  reef  without 
delay,  taking  with  him  all  the  Kannakas  at  Whaling  Bight, 
with  orders  to  put  them  on  board  the  shipping  at  the  reef — 
schooners,  sloops,  lighters,  etc.,  of  which  there  were  now,  ordi- 
narily, some  eight  or  ten  to  be  found  there — and  to  carry  them 
all  to  windward  ;  using  the  inner  channels  of  the  group.  Here 
was  a  twenty-four  hours'  job,  and  one  that  would  not  only  keep 
everybody  quite  busy,  but  which  might  have  the  effect  to  save 
all  the  property  in  the  event  of  a  visit  to  the  reef  by  the  pirates. 
Biffelow  was  to  call  even'  Kannaka  he  saw  to  his  assistance,  in 
the  hope  of  thus  getting  most  of  them  out  of  harm's  way. 

Notwithstanding  this  procedure,  which  denoted  a  wise  dis- 
trust of  these  Indian  allies,  the  governor  manifested  a  certain 
degree  of  confidence  toward  a  portion  of  them,  that  was  proba- 
bly just  as  discreet  in  another  way.  A  part  of  the  crew  of  every 
vessel,  with  the  exception  of  those  that  went  to  the  peak,  was 
composed  of  Kannakas ;  and  no  less  than  ten  of  them  were 
habitually  employed  in  the  Anne,  which  earned  two   whale- 


436  the    crater: 

boats  for  emergencies.  None  of  these  men  were  sent  away,  or 
were  in  any  manner  taken  from  their  customary  employments. 
So  much  confidence  had  the  governor  in'his  own  authority,  and 
in  his  power  to  influence  these  particular  individuals,  that  he 
did  not  hesitate  about  keeping  them  near  himself,  and,  in  a 
measure,  of  entrusting  the  safety  of  his  person  to  their  care.  It  ia 
true,  that  the  Eannakaa  of  both  the  Anne  and  the  Martha  were 
a  sort  of  confidential  seamen,  having  now  been  employed  in  the 
colony  several  years,  and  got  a  taste  for  the  habits  of  the  settlers. 

When  all  his  arrangements  were  made,  the  governor  came 
out  of  "Whaling  Bight  in  the  Anne,  meeting  Betts  in  the  Mar- 
tha off  South  Cape.  Both  vessels  then  stood  down  along  the 
shores  of  the  group,  keeping  a  bright  look-out  in  the  direction 
of  Rancocus  Island,  or  toward  the  southward  and  westward. 
Two  or  three  smaller  crafts  were  in  company,  each  under  the 
direction  of  some  one  on  whom  reliance  could  be  placed.  The 
old  Xeshamony  had  the  honor  of  being  thus  employed,  among 
others.  The  south-western  angle  of  the  group  formed  a  long, 
low  point,  or  cape  of  rock,  making  a  very  tolerable  roadstead 
on  its  north-western  side,  or  to  leeward.  This,  cape  was  known 
among  the  colonists  by  the  name  of  Rancocus  Needle,  from  the 
circumstance  that  it  pointed,  with  mathematical  precision,  to 
the  island  in  question.  Thus,  it  was  a  practice  with  the  coasters 
to  run  for  the  extremity  of  this  cape,  and  then  to  stand  away  on 
a  due  south-west  course,  certain  of  seeing  the  mountains  for 
which  they  were  steering  in  the  next  few  hours.  Among  those 
who  plied  to  and  fro  in  this  manner,  were  many  who  had  no 
very  accurate  notions  of  navigation,  and  to  them,  this  simple 
process  was  found  to  be  quite  useful. 

Off  Rancocus  Needle,  the  governor  had  appointed  a  rendez- 
vous for  the  whole  of  his  little  fleet.  In  collecting  these  vessels, 
six  in  all,  including  four  boats,  his  object  had  not  been  resist- 
ance— for  the  armaments  of  the  whole  amounted  to  but  six 
swivels,  together  with  a  few  muskets — but  vigilance.  He  was 
confident  that  Waally  would  lead  his  new  friends  up  toward  the 
in  roads — the  point  where  he  had  made  all  his  own  at- 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  437 

tacks,  and  where  lie  was  most  acquainted — and  the  position  un- 
der the  Needle  was  the  best  station  for  observing  the  approach 
of  the  strangers,  coming,  as  they  must,  if  they  came  at  all,  from 
the  south-west. 

The  Anne  was  the  first  craft  to  arrive  off  the  point  of  the 
Needle,  and  she  found  the  coast  clear.  As  yet,  no  signs  of  in. 
vaders  were  to  be  seen  ;  and  the  Martha  being  within  a  very 
convenient  distance  to  the  eastward,  a  signal  was  made  to  Cap- 
tain Betts  to  stand  over  toward  the  peak,  and  have  a  search  in 
that  quarter.  Should  the  strangers  take  it  into  their  heads  to 
beat  up  under  the  cliffs  again,  and  thence  stretch  across  to 
the  group,  it  would  bring  them  in  with  the  land  to  windward 
of  the  observing  squadron,  and  give  them  an  advantage  the  gov- 
ernor was  very  far  from  wishing  them  to  obtain.  The  resr  of 
the  craft  came  down  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  kept  stand- 
ing off  and  on,  under  short  sail,  close  in  with  the  rocks,  so 
as  to  keep  in  the  smoothest  of  the  water.  Such  was  the  state 
of  things  when  the  sun  went  down  in  the  ocean. 

All  night  the  little  fleet  of  the  colonists  remained  in  the  same 
uncertainty  as  to  the  movements  of  their  suspicious  visitors. 
About  twelve  the  Martha  came  round  the  Needle,  and  reported 
the  coast  clear  to  the  southward.  She  had  been  quite  to  the 
cove,  and  had  communicated  with  the  shore.  Nothing  had 
been  seen  of  the  ship  and  her  consorts  since  the  governor  left, 
nor  had  any  further  tidings  been  brought  up  from  to  leeward,' 
since  the  arrival  of  Bigelow.  On  receiving  this  information^ 
the  governor  ordered  his  command  to  run  off,  in  diverging  lines, 
for  seven  leagues  each,  and  then  to  wait  for  day.  °This  was 
accordingly  done  ;  the  Anne  and  Martha,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
outstripping  the  others.  At  the  usual  hour,  day  reappeared, 
when  the  look-out  aloft,  on  board  the  Anne,  reported  the  Mar- 
tha about  two  leagues  to  the  northward,  the  Neshamony  about 
as  tar  to  the  southward,  though  a  league  further  to  windward. 
The  other  craft  were  known  to  be  to  the  northward  of  the  Mar- 
tha, but  could  not  be  seen.  As  for  the  Neshamony,  she  was 
coming  down  with  a  flowing  sheet  t«»  speak  the  governor. 


438  the    crater: 

The  sun  had  fairly  risen  when  the  Neshamony  came  down  od 
the  Anne's  weather-quarter,  both  craft  then  standing  to  the 
northward.  The  Neshamony  had  seen  nothing.  The  governor 
now  directed  her  commander  to  stand  directly  down  toward 
Rancocus  Island.  If  she  saw  nothing,  she  was  to  go  in  and 
land,  in  order  to  get  the  news  from  the  people  ashore.  Unless 
the  information  obtained  in  this  way  was  of  a  nature  that  de- 
manded a  different  course,  she  was  to  heat  up  to  the  volcano, 
reconnoitre  there,  then  stand  across  to  the  cove,  and  go  in  ; 
whence  she  was  to  sail  for  the  reef,  unless  she  could  hear  of  the 
governor  at  some  other  point,  when  she  was  to  make  the  best 
of  her  way  to  him. 

The  Anne  now  made  sail  toward  the  Martha,  which  sloop 
was  standing  to  the  northward,  rather  edging  from  the  group, 
under  short  canvas.  No  land  was  in  sight,  though  its  haze 
could  he  discovered  all  along  the  eastern  board,  where  the 
group  was  known  to  lie  ;  but  neither  the  peak,  nor  the  volcano, 
nor  Rancocus  heights  could  now  be  seen  from  the  vessels. 
About  ten  the  governor  spoke  Captain  Betts,  to  ask  the  news. 
The  Martha  had  seen  nothing;  and,  shortly  after,  the  three 
boats  to  the  northward  joined,  and  made  the  same  report. 
Nothing  had  been  seen  of  the  strangers,  who  seemed,  most 
unaccountably,  to  be  suddenly  lost ! 

This  uncertainty  rendered  all  the  more  reflecting  portion  of 
the  colonists  exceedingly  uneasy.  Should  the  pirates  get  into 
the  group  by  either  of  its  weather  channels,  they  would  not 
only  find  all  the  property  and  vessels  that  had  been  taken  in 
that  direction  at  their  mercy,  but  they  would  assail  the  settle- 
ments in  their  weakest  parts,  render  succor  more  difficult,  and 
put  themselves  in  a  position  whence  it  would  be  easiest  to 
approach  or  to  avoid  their  foes.  Any  one  understanding  the 
place,  its  facilities  for  attacking,  or  its  defences,  would  naturally 
endeavor  to  enter  the  group  as  well  to  windward  as  possible ; 
but  Waally  had  never  attempted  any  thing  of  the  sort ;  and,  as 
he  knew  little  of  the  inner  passages,  it  was  not  probable  ho 
had  thought  of  suggesting  a  course  different  from  his  own  to 


OR,     VULCAN'S      PEAK.  439 

his  new  friends.  The  very  circumstance  that  he  had  always 
approached  by  the  same  route,  was  against  it;  for,  if  his 
sagacity  had  not  pointed  out  a  preferable  course  for  himself,  it 
was  not  to  be  expected  it  would  do  it  for  others.  Still,  it  was 
not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  practised  seamen  might  see 
the  advantages  which  the  savage  had  overlooked,  and  a  very 
serious  apprehension  arose  in  the  minds  of  the  governor  and 
Betts,  in  particular,  touching  this  point.  All  that  could  be 
done,  however,  was  to  despatch  two  of  the  boats,  with  orders 
to  enter  the  group  by  the  northern  road,  and  proceed  as  far 
as  the  reef.  The  third  boat  was  left  to  cruise  off  the  Needle, 
in  order  to  communicate  with  any  thing  that  should  go  to  that 
place  of  rendezvous  with  a  report,  and  at  the  same  time,  to 
keep  a  look-out  for  the  pirates.  With  the  person  in  charge  of 
this  boat,  was  left  the  course  to  be  steered  by  those  who  were 
to  search  for  the  governor,  as  they  arrived  off  the  Needle,  from 
time  to  time. 

The  Anne  and  Martha  bore  up,  in  company,  as  soon  as  these 
arrangements  were  completed,  it  being  the  plan  now  to  go  and 
look  for  the  strangers.  Once  in  view,  the  governor  determined 
not  to  lose  sight  of  the  pirates  again,  but  to  remain  so  near 
them,  as  to  make  sure  of  knowing  what  they  were  about.  In 
such  cases,  a  close  look-out  should  always  be  kept  on  the  enemy, 
since  an  advantage  in  time  is  gained  by  so  doing,  as  well  as  a 
great  deal  of  uncertainty  and  indecision  avoided. 

For  seven  hours  the  Anne  and  Martha  stood  toward  Ranco- 
cus  Island,  running  off  about  two  leagues  from  each  other, 
thereby  "  spreading  a  clew,"  as  sailors-call  it,  that  would  com- 
mand the  view  of  a  good  bit  of  water.  The  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains were  soon  seen,  and  by  the  end  of  the  time  mentioned, 
most  of  the  lower  land  became  visible.  Nevertheless,  the 
strangers  did  not  come  in  sight.  Greatly  at  a  loss  how  to  pro- 
ceed, the  governor  now  sent  the  Martha  down  for  information, 
with  orders  for  her  to  beat  up  to  the  Needle  as  soon  as  she 
could,  the  Anne  intending  to  rendezvous  there  next  morning, 
agreeably  to  previou.-  arrangements.     As  the  Martha  went  off 


440  the    crater: 

before  the  wind,  the  Anne  hauled  up  sharp  toward  the  peat, 
under  the  impression  that  something  might  have  been  seen  of 
the  strangers  from  the  high  land  there.  About  four  in  the 
morning  the  Anne  went  into  the  cove,  and  the  governor  ascend- 
ed to  the  plain  to  have  an  interview  with  Heaton.  He  found 
every  thing  tranquil  in  that  quarter.  Nothing  had  been  seen 
of  the  strange  squadron  since  it  went  out  of  sight  under  the 
volcano;  nor  had  even  the  Neshamony  come  in.  The  gover- 
nor's arrival  was  soon  known,  early  as  it  was,  and  he  had  visits 
from  half  the  women  on  the  island,  to  inquire  after  their  absent 
husbands.  Each  wife  was  told  all  the  governor  knew,  and  this 
short  intercourse  relieved  the  minds  of  a  great  many. 

At  eight  the  Anne  sailed  again,  and  at  ten  she  had  the 
Needle  in  sight,  with  three  boats  off  it,  on  the  look-out.  Here, 
then,  were  tidings  at  lasl  ;  hut  the  impatience  of  the  governor 
was  restrained,  in  order  to  make  out  the  character  of  a  sail  that 
had  been  seen  coining  down  through  the  straits,  under  a  cloud 
of  canvas.  In  a  short  time,  this  vessel  was  made  out  to  be  the 
Abraham,  and  the  Anne  hauled  up  to  get  her  news.  The  two 
schooners  spoke  each  other  about  twelve  o'clock,  but  the  Abra- 
ham had  no  intelligence  to  impart.  She  had  been  sent,  or 
rather  carried  by  Bigelow,  out  by  the  eastern  passage,  and  had 
stood  along  the  whole  of  the  weather  side  of  the  group,  to  give 
notice  to  the  whalers  where  to  go  ;  and  she  had  notified  the 
two  brigs  to  go  in  to  windward,  and  to  remain  in  "Weather 
Bay,  where  all  the  rest  of  the  dull  crafts  had  been  taken  for 
safety  ;  and  then  had  come  to  leeward  to  look  for  the  governor. 
As  the  Abraham  was  barely  a  respectable  sailer,  it  was  not 
deemed  prudent  to  take  hertoo  near  the  strangers;  but  she  might 
see  how  matters  were  situated  to  the  eastward.  By  keeping 
on  the  weather  coast,  and  so  near  the  land  as  not  to  be  cut  off 
from  it,  she  would  be  of  particular  service,  since  no  enemy 
could  approach  in  that  quarter  without  being  seen,  and  Bige- 
low's  familiarity  with  the  channels  would  enable  him,  not  only 
to  save  his  schooner  b}r  running  in,  but  would  put  it  in  his 
power  to  give  notice  throughout  the  whole  group   of  the  posi- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  441 

tion  and  apparent  intentions  of  the  strangers.  The  Abraham, 
accordingly,  hauled  by  the  wind,  to  beat  back  to  her  station,' 
while  the  Anne  kept  off  for  the  Needle. 

At   the   rendezvous,   the   governor  found  most  of  his  craft 
waiting  for  him.     The  Neshamony  was  still    behind ;  but  all 
the  rest  had  executed  their  orders,  and  were  standing  off  and 
on,  near  the  cape,  ready  to  report.     Nothing  had  been  seen  of 
the  strangers  !     It  was  certain  they  had  not   approached  the 
group,  for  two  of  the  boats  had  just  come  out  of  it,  having  left 
the  colonists  busy  with  the  preparations  for  defence,  but  totally 
undisturbed    in    other   respects.      This   information   gave   the 
governor  increased  uneasiness.     His  hope  of  hearing  from  the 
pirates,  in  time  to  be  ready  to  meet  them,  now  depended  on  his 
reports  from  to  leeward.     The  Neshamony  ought  soon  to  be 
in  ;  nor  could  it  be  long  before  the  Martha  would  return.     The 
great  source  of  apprehension  now  came  from  a  suspicion  that 
some  of  the  Kannakas  might  be  acting  as  pilots,   along  with 
Waally.      For  Waally  himself  no  great  distrust  was  felt,  since 
he. had  never  been  allowed  to  see  much  of  the  channels  of  the 
group;  but  it  was  very  different  with  the  sea-going  Kannakas, 
who  had  been  employed  by  the  colonists.     Some  of  these  men 
were  familiar  with  all  the  windings  and  turnings  of  the  channels, 
knew  how  much  water  could  be  taken  through  a  passage,  and,' 
though  not  absolutely  safe  pilots,  perhaps,  were  men  who  might . 
enable   skilful   seamen    to  handle  their  vessels   with   tolerable 
security  within  the  islands.     Should  it  turn  out  that  one  or  two 
of  these  fellows  had  undertaken  to  carry  the  strangers  up  to 
wimhvard,  and  to  take  them  into  one  of  the  passages  in  thai 
quarter  of  the  group,  they  might  be  down  upon  the  different 
fortified  points  before  they  were  expected,  and  sweep  all  before 
tfiem.     It  is  true,  this  danger  had  been  in  a  measure  foreseen, 
ami  persons  had  been  sent  to  look  out  for  it;   but  it  never  had 
appeared  so  formidable  to  the  governor,  as  now  that  he  found 
himself  completely  at  fault  where  to  look  for  his  enemy.      At 
length,  a  prospect  of  fresh  reports  appeared.     The  Neshamony 
was  seen  in  the  southern  board,  standing  across  from  the  peak"- 
19* 


442  the    crater: 

and  about  the  same  time  the  Martha  was  made  out  in  the 
south-western,  beating  up  from  Rancocus  Island  direct.  As  the 
first  had  been  ordered  to  land,  and  had  also  been  round  by  the 
volcano,  the  Anne  hauled  up  for  her,  the  governor  being  im- 
patient to  get  her  tidings  first.  In  half  an  hour,  the  two  vessels 
Avcre  alongside  of  each  other.  But  the  Neshamony  had  very 
little  that  was  new  to  tell !  The  pirates  had  remained  on  the 
island  but  a  short  time  after  Bigelow  and  his  companions  got 
away,  doing  all  the  damage  they  could,  however,  in  that  brief 
space.  When  they  left,  it  was  night,  and  nothing  very  certain 
could  be  told  of  their  movements.  When  last  seen,  however, 
they  were  on  a  wind,  and  heading  to  the  southward  a  little 
westerly,  which  looked  like  beating  up  toward  the  volcano,  the 
trades  now  blowing  due  south-cast.  But  the  Neshamony  had 
bi  11  quite  round  the  volcano,  without  obtaining  a  sight  of  the 
strangers.  Thence  she  proceeded  to  the  peak,  where  she  ar- 
rived only  a  few  hours  after  the  governor  had  sailed,  going  into 
the  cove  and  finding  all  quiet.  Of  course,  the  Martha  could 
have  no  more  to  say  than  this,  if  as  much  ;  and  the  governor 
was  once  more  left  to  the  pain  of  deep  suspense.  As  was  ex- 
pected, when  Betts  joined,  he  had  nothing  at  all  to  tell.  He 
had  been  ashore  at  Rancocus  Point,  heard  the  complaints  of 
the  people  touching  their  losses,  but  had  obtained  no  other  tid- 
ings of  the  wrong-doers.  Unwilling  to  lose  time,  he  staid  but 
an  hour,  and  had  been  beating  back  to  the  rendezvous  the  rest 
of  the  period  of  his  absence.  Was  it  possible  that  the  stran- 
gers had  gone  back  to  Betto's  group,  satisfied  with  the  trifling 
injuries  they  had  inflicted  ?  This  could  hardly  be  ;  yet  it  was 
not  easy  to  say  where  else  they  had  been.  After  a  consultation 
it  was  decided  that  the  Martha  should  stand  over  in  that  direc- 
tion, in  the  hope  that  she  might  pick  up  some  intelligence,  by 
meeting  with  fishing  canoes  that  often  came  out  to  a  large 
cluster  of  rocks  that  lay  several  leagues  to  windward  of  the 
territories  of  Ooroony  and  Waally.  Captain  Betts  had  taken 
his  leave  of  the  governor,  and  had  actually  got  on  board  his 
own  vessel,  in  order  to  make  sail,  when  a  signal  was  seen  flying 


or,    vuloan's    peak.  443 

on  board  one  of  the  boats  that  was  kept  cruising  well  out  in  the 
straits,  intimating  that  strange  vessels  were  seen  to  windward. 
This  induced  the  governor  to  recall  the  Martha,  and  the  whole 
of  the  look-out  vessels  stood  off  into  the  straits. 

In  less  than  an  hour  all  doubts  were  removed.  There  were 
the  strangers,  sure  enough,  and,  what  was  more,  there  was  the 
Abraham  ahead  of  them,  pushing  for  Cape  South  passage, 
might  and  main  ;  for  the  strangers  were  on  her  heels,  going 
four  feet  to  her  three.  It  appeared,  afterward,  that  the 
pirates,  on  quitting  Rancocus  Island,  had  stood  off  to  the 
southward  until  they  reached  to  windward  of  the  volcano,  pass- 
ing, however,  a  good  bit  to  leeward  of  the  island  on  their 
first  stretch,  when,  finding  the  peak  just  dipping,  they  tacked 
to  the  northward  and  westward,  and  stood  off  toward  the  ordi- 
nary whaling-ground  of  the  colony,  over  which  they  swept  in  the 
expectation  of  capturing  the  brigs.  The  pirates  had  no  occa- 
casion  for  oil,  which  they  probably  would  have  destroyed  in 
pure  wantonness,  but  they  were  much  in  want  of  naval  stores — 
cordage  in  particular — and  the  whaling  gear  of  the  two  brigs 
would  have  been  very  acceptable  to  them.  AVhile  running  in 
for  the  group,  after  an  unsuccessful  search,  they  made  the 
Abraham,  and  gave  chase.  That  schooner  steered  for  the 
straits,  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  governor,  but  was  so  hard 
pressed  by  her  pursuers  as  to  be  glad  to  edge  in  for  Cape  South 
roads,  intending  to  enter  the  group,  and  run  for  the  reef,  if  she 
could  do  no  better. 

.  Luckily,  the  discovery  of  the  look-out  boat  prevented  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  Abraham's  project,  which  would  have  led  the 
pirates  directly  up  to  the  capital.  But  no  sooner  did  the  gov- 
ernor see  how  things  were  situated,  than  he  boldly  luffed  up  to- 
ward the  strangers,  intending  to  divert  them  from  the  chase  of 
the  Abraham  ;  or,  at  least,  to  separate  them,  in  chase  of  him- 
self. In  this  design  he  was  handsomely  seconded  by  Betts,  in 
the  Martha,  who  hauled  his  wind  in  the  wake  of  the  Anne, 
and  carried  every  thing  that  would  draw,  in  order  to  keep  his 
station.     This  decision  and  show  of  spirit  had  its  effect.     The 


444  the    crater: 

two  brigs,  which  were  most  to  the  southward,  altered  their  course, 
and  edged  away  for  the  Anne  and  Martha,  leaving  the  ship  to 
follow  the  Abraham  alone.  The  governor  was  greatly  rejoiced 
at  this,  for  he  had  a  notion  a  vessel  as  large  as  the  strange  ship 
would  hesitate  about  entering  the  narrow  waters,  on  account  of 
her  draught,  she  being  much  larger  than  any  craft  that  had  ever 
been  in  before,  as  the  Kannakas  must  know,  and  would  not  fail 
to  report  to  the  pirates.  The  governor  supposed  this  ship  to  be 
a  vessel  of  between  six  and  seven  hundred  tons  measurement. 
Her  armament  appeared  to  be  twelve  guns  of  a  side  below,  and 
some  eight  or  ten  guns  on  her  quarter-deck  and  forecastle. 
This  was  a  formidable  craft  in  those  days,  making,  what  was 
called  in  the  English  service,  an  cight-and-twenty-gun  frigate 
— a  class  of  cruisers  that  were  then  found  to  be  very  useful.  It 
is  true,  that  the  first-class  modern  sloop  of  war  would  blow  one 
of  those  little  frigates  out  of  water,  being  several  hundred  tons 
larger,  with  armaments,  crews,  and  spars  in  proportion ;  but  an 
eight-and-twenty-gun  frigate  offered  a  very  formidable  force  to 
a  community  like  that  of  the  crater,  and  no  one  knew  it  better 
than  the  governor. 

The  three  strangers  all  sailed  like  witches.  It  was  well  for 
the  Abraham  that  she  had  a  port  so  close  under  her  lee,  or  the 
ship  would  have  had  her,  beyond  the  smallest  doubt.  As  it  was 
she  caught  it,  as  she  rounded  the  cape,  as  close  in  as  she  could 
go,  the  frigate  letting  slip  at  her  the  whole  of  her  starboard 
broadside,  which  cut  away  the  schooner's  gaff,  jib-stay,  and 
maiu-top-masts,  besides  killing  a  Kannaka,  who  was  in  the  main- 
cross-trees  at  the  time.  This  last  occurrence  turned  out  to  be 
fortunate  in  the  main,  however,  since  it  induced  all  the  Kanna- 
kas to  believe  that  the  strangers  were  their  enemies,  in  partic- 
ular ;  else  why  kill  one  of  their  number,  when  there  were  just 
as  many  colonists  as  Kannakas  to  shoot  at ! 

As  the  governor  expected,  the  ship  did  not  venture  to  follow 
the  Abraham  in.  That  particular  passage,  in  fact,  was  utterly 
unknown  to  Waally  and  those  with  him,  and  he  could  not  give 
such  an  account  of  it  as  would  encourage  the  admiral  to  stand 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  445 

on.     Determined   not   to  lose   time   unnecessarily,  the   latter 
hauled  short  off  shore,  and  made  sail  in  chase  of  the  Anne  and 
Martha,  which,  by  this  time,  were  about  mid-channel,  heading 
across  to  the  peak.     It  was  not  the  wish  of  the  governor,  how* 
ever,  to  lead  the  strangers  any  nearer  to  the  cove  than  was  nec- 
essary, and  no  sooner  did  he  see  the  Abraham  well  within  the 
islands,  her  sails  concealed  by  the  trees,  of  which  there  was 
now  a  little  forest  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  and  the  ship  draw- 
ing well  off  the  land  in  hot  pursuit  of  himself,  than  he  kept 
away  in  the  direction  of  Rancocus  Island,  bringing  the  wind  on 
his  larboard  quarter.     The  strangers  followed,  and  in  half  an 
hour  they  were  all  so  far  to  leeward  of  Cape  South,  as  to  re- 
move any  apprehension  of  their  going  in  there  very  soon. 
^  Thus  far,  the  plan  of  the  governor  had  succeeded  to  admira- 
tion.    He  had  his  enemies  in  plain  sight,  within  a  league  of 
him,  and  in  chase  of  his  two  fastest  craft.     The  best  sailing  of 
the  Anne  and  Martha  was  on  a  wind,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
they  could    do    better,   comparatively,  in   smooth  water   than 
larger  craft.     No  sooner,  therefore,  had  he  got  his  pursuers  far 
enough  off  the  land,  and  far  enough  to  leeward,  than  the  gov- 
ernor wore,  or  jibed  would  be  the    better  word,  running  off- 
north-west,  with  the  wind  on  his  starboard  quarter.     This  gave 
the  strangers  a  little  the  advantage,  in  one  sense,  though  they 
lost  it    in   another.     It  brought  them  on  his  weather-beam; 
pretty  well  forward  of  it,   too;    but  the  Needle  was    directly 
ahead  of  the  schooner  and  sloop,  and  the  governor  foresaw  that 
'his  pursuers  would  have  to  keep  off  to  double  that,  which  he 
was  reasonably  certain  of  reaching  first. 

Every  thing  turned  out  as  the  governor  anticipated.  The 
pirates  had  near  a  league  of  water  more  to  pass  over,  before  they 
could  double  the  Needle,  than  the  Anne  and  the  Martha  had  ; 
and  though  these  two  crafts  were  obliged  to  haul  up  close  to 
the  rocks,  under  a  distant  fire  from  all  three  of  their  pursuers, 
no  harm  was  done,  and  they  were  soon  covered  by  the  land,' 
and  were  close-hauled  in  smooth  water,  to  leeward  of  the  group.' 
Twenty  minutes  later,  the  strangers  came  round  the  cape,  also, 


446 


the    crater: 


bearing  up  sharp,  and  following  their  chase.  This  was  placing 
the  enemy  just  where  the  colonists  could  have  wished.  They 
were  now  to  leewai'd  of  every  point  in  the  settlements,  looking 
up  toward  the  roads,  which  opened  on  the  western  passage,  or 
that  best  known  to  Waally,  and  which  he  would  be  most  likely 
to  enter,  should  he  attempt  to  pilot  the  strangers  in.  This  was 
getting  the  invaders  precisely  where  the  governor  wished  them 
to  be,  if  they  were  to  attack  him  at  all.  They  could  not  reach 
the  reef  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  with  their  knowledge  of 
the  channel ;  would  have  to  approach  it  in  face  of  the  heaviest 
and  strongest  batteries,  those  provided  for  Waally  ;  and,  if  suc- 
cessful in  reaching  the  inner  harbor,  would  enter  it  under  the 
fire  of  the  long  twelves  mounted  on  the  crater,  which  was, 
rightly  enough,  deemed  to  be  the  citadel  of  the  entire  colony, 
unless,  indeed,  the  peak  might  better  deserve  that  name. 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK. 


447 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 

"  It  scares  the  sea-birds  from  their  nests ; 

They  dart  and  wheel  with  deafening  screams; 
Now  dark — and  now  their  wings  and  breasts 

Flash  back  amid  disastrous  gleams. 
O,  sin !  what  hast  thou  done  on  this  fair  earth  ? 
The  world,  O,  man !  is  wailing  o'er  thy  birth." 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  colonists  to  lead  their  pursuers  di- 
rectly up  to  the  western  roads.  On  the  small  island,  under 
which  vessels  were  accustomed  to  anchor,  was  a  dwelling  or  two 
and  a  battery  of  two  guns — nine-pounders.  These  guns  were 
to  command  the  anchorage.  The  island  lay  directly  in  front  of 
the  mouth  of  the  passage,  making  a  very  beautiful  harbor  with- 
in it ;  though  the  water  was  so  smooth  in  the  roads,  and  the 
last  were  so  much  the  most  convenient  for  getting  under  way 
in,  that  this  more  sheltered  haven  was  very  little  used.  On  the 
present  occasion,  however,  all  the  colony  craft  beat  up  past  the 
island,  and  anchored  inside  of  it.  The  crews  were  then  landed, 
and  they  repaired  to  the  battery,  which  they  found  ready  for  ser- 
vice in  consequence  of  orders  previously  sent. 

Here,  then,  was  the  point  where  hostilities  would  be  likely  to 
commence,  should  hostilities  commence  at  all.  One  of  the  boats 
was  sent  across  to  the  nearest  island  inland,  where  a  messenger 
was  landed,  with  directions  to  carry  a  letter  to  Pennock,  at  the 
reef.  This  messenger  was  compelled  to  walk  about  six  miles, 
the  whole  distance  in  a  grove  of  young  palms  and  bread-fruit 
trees;  great  pains  having  been  taken  to  cultivate  both  of  these 
plants  throughout  the  group,  in  spots  favorable  to  their  growth. 
/  **tcr  getting  through  the  grove,  the  path  came  out  on  a  planta- 


448  the    crater: 

tion,  where  a  horse  was  kept  for  this  especial  object ;  and  here 
the  man  mounted  and  galloped  off  to  the  reef,  soon  finding  him- 
self amid  a  line  of  some  of  the  most  flourishing  plantations  in 
the  colony.  Fortunately,  however,  as  things  then  threatened, 
these  plantations  were  not  on  the  main  channel,  hut  stood  along 
the  margin  of  a  passage  which  was  deep  enough  to  receive  any 
craft  that  floated,  but  which  was  a  cul-de-sac,  that  could  be  en- 
tered only  from  the  eastward.  Along  the  margin  of  the  ship- 
channel,  there  was  not  yet  soil  of  the  rigbt  quality  for  cultiva- 
tion, though  it  was  slowly  forming,  as  the  sands  that  lay  thick 
on  the  adjacent  rocks  received  other  substances  by  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere. 

The  Anne  and  her  consorts  had  been  anchored  about  an  hour 
when  the  strangers  hove-to  in  the  roads,  distant  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  battery.  Here  they  all  hoisted  white  flags,  as  if 
desirous  of  having  a  parley.  The  governor  did  not  well  know 
how  to  act.  He  could  not  tell  whether  or  not  it  would  do  to 
trust  such  men  ;  and  he  as  little  liked  to  place  Betts,  or  any 
other  confidential  friend,  in  their  power,  as  he  did  to  place  him- 
self there.  Nevertheless,  prudence  required  that  some  notice 
should  be  taken  of  the  flag  of  truce ;  and  he  determined  to  go 
off  a  short  distance  from  the  shore  in  one  of  his  own  boats,  and 
hoist  a  white  flag,  which  would  be  as  much  as  to  say  that  he 
was  waiting  there  to  receive  any  communication  that  the  stran- 
gers might  choose  to  send  him. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  governor's  boat  had  reached  her 
station,  which  was  fairly  within  the  short  range  of  the  two  guns 
in  the  battery,  ere  a  boat  shoved  off  from  the  ship,  showing  the 
white  flag  too.  In  a  few  minutes  the  two  boats  were  within  the 
lengths  of  each  other's  oars,  riding  peacefully  side  by  side. 

On  board  the  stranger's  boat,  in  addition  to  the  six  men  who 
were  at  the  oars,  were  three  persons  in  the  stern-sheets.  One 
of  these  men,  as  wTas  afterward  ascertained,  was  the  admiral 
himself ;  a  second  was  an  interpreter,  who  spoke  English  with 
a  foreign  accent,  but  otherwise  perfectly  well ;  and  the  third 
was  no  other  than  Waally !     The  governor  thought  a  fierce  sat- 


OR,     VULCAN    S      TEAK.  449 

isfaction  was  gleaming  in  the  countenance  of  the  savage  when 
they  met,  though  the  latter  said  nothing.  The  interpreter 
opened  the  communications. 

"Is  any  one  in  that  boat,"  demanded  this  person,  "who  is 
empowered  to  speak  for  the  authorities  ashore  !" 

"There  is,"  answered  the  governor,  who  did  not  deem  it 
wise,  nevertheless,  exactly  to  proclaim  his  rank.  "I  have  full 
powers,  being  directly  authorized  by  the  chief  magistrate  of  this 
colony." 

"  To  what  nation  does  your  colony  belong?" 

This  was  an  awkward  question,  and  one  that  had  not  been  at 
all  anticipated,  and  which  the  governor  was  not  fully  prepared 
to  answer. 

"  Before  interrogatories  are  thus  put,  it  might  be  as  well  for 
me  to  know  by  what  authority  I  am  questioned  at  all,"  return- 
ed Mr.  Woolston.  "  What  are  the  vessels  which  have  anchored 
in  our  waters,  and  under  what  flag  do  they  sail  ?" 

"A  man-of-war  never  answers  a  hail,  unless  it  comes  from  an- 
other man-of-war,"  answered  the  interpreter,  smiling. 

"  Do  you,  then,  claim  to  be  vessels  of  war  ?" 

"  If  compelled  to  use  our  force,  you  will  find  us  so.  "We 
have  not  come  here  to  answer  questions,  however,  but  to  ask 
them.  Does  your  colony  claim  to  belong  to  any  particular  na- 
tion, or  not?" 

■•We  are  all  natives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
our  vessels  sail  under  her  flag." 

"The  United  States  of  America !"  repeated  the  interpreter, 
with  an  ill-concealed  expression  of  contempt.      "There  i- 
picking  among  the  vessels  of  that  nation,  as  the  great  Euro] 
belligerents  well  know  ;  and  while  so  many  are  profiting  by  it, 
we  may  as  well  come  in  for  our  share." 

It  may  be  necessary  to  remind  a  portion  of  our  readers,  that 
this  dialogue  occurred  more  than  forty  years  ago,  and  long  be- 
fore the  republic  sent  out  its  fleets  and  armies  to  conquer 
cent  states ;  when,  indeed,  it  had  scarce  a  fleet  and  army  to 
protect  its  own  coasts  and  frontiers  from  insults  and  depreda- 


450  the    crater: 

tions.  It  is  said  that  when  the  late  Emperor  of  Austria,  the 
good  and  kind-hearted  Francis  II.,  was  shown  the  ruins  of  the 
little  castle  of  Hapsburg,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  crowning  a 
low  height,  in  the  canton  of  Aarraw,  Switzerland,  he  observed, 
"  I  now  see  that  we  have  not  always  been  a  great  family." 
The  governor  cared  very  little  for  the  fling  at  his  native  land, 
but  he  did  not  relish  the  sneer,  as  it  indicated  the  treatment 
likely  to  be  bestowed  on  his  adopted  country.  Still,  the 
case  was  not  to  be  remedied  except  by  the  use  of  the  means 
already  provided,  should  his  visitors  see  fit  to  resort  to  force. 

A  desultory  conversation  now  ensued,  in  which  the  strangers 
pretty  plainly  let  their  designs  be  seen.  In  the  first  place  they 
demanded  a  surrender  of  all  the  craft  belonging  to  the  colony, 
big  and  little,  together  with  all  the  naval  stores.  This  condi- 
tion complied  with,  the  strangers  intimated  that  it  was  possible 
their  conquests  would  not  be  pushed  much  further.  Of  provi- 
sions, they  stood  in  need  of  pork,  and  they  understood  that  the 
colony  had  hogs  without  number.  If  they  would  bring  down 
to  the  island  a  hundred  fat  hogs,  with  barrels  and  salt,  within 
twenty-four  hours,  it  was  probable,  however,  no  further  de- 
mand for  provisions  would  be  made.  They  had  obtained  fifty 
barrels  of  very  excellent  flour  at  Rancocus  Island,  and  could 
not  conveniently  stow  more  than  that  number,  in  addition  to 
the  demanded  hundred  barrels  of  pork.  The  admiral  also  re- 
quired that  hostages  should  be  sent  on  board  his  ship,  and  that 
he  should  be  provided  with  proper  pilots,  in  order  that  he,  and 
a  party  of  suitable  size,  might  take  the  Anne  and  the  Martha, 
and  go  up  to  the  town,  which  he  understood  lay  some  twenty 
or  thirty  miles  within  the  group.  Failing  of  an  acquiescence 
in  these  terms,  war,  and  war  of  the  most  ruthless  character,  was 
to  be  immediately  proclaimed.  All  attempts  to  obtain  an  an- 
nouncement of  any  national  character,  on  the  part  of  the  stran- 
gers, was  evaded*;  though,  from  the  appearance  of  every  thing 
he  saw,  the  governor  could  not  now  have  the  smallest  doubt 
that  he  had  to  do  with  pirates. 

After  getting  all  out  of  the  strangers  that  he  could,  and  it 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  451 

was  but  little  at  the  best,  the  governor  quietly,  but  steadily  re- 
fused to  accede  to  any  one  of  tbe  demands,  and  put  the  issue 
on  the  appeal  to  force.  The  strangers  were  obviously  disap- 
pointed at  tbis  answer,  for  the  thoughtful,  simple  manner  of 
Mark  Woolston  had  misled  them,  and  they  had  actually  flat- 
tered themselves  with  obtaining  all  they  wanted  without  a 
struggle.  At  first,  the  anger  of  the  admiral  threatened  some 
treacherous  violence  on  the  spot,  but  the  crews  of  the  two  boats 
were  so  nearly  equal,  that  prudence,  if  not  good  faith,  admon- 
ished him  of  the  necessity  of  respecting  the  truce.  The  parties 
separated,  however,  with  denunciations,  nay  maledictions,  on 
the  part  of  the  strangers ;  the  colonists  remaining  quiet  in  de- 
meanor, but  firm. 

The  time  taken  for  the  two  boats  to  return  to  their  respective 
points  of  departure  was  but  short ;  and  scarcely  was  that  of  the 
stranger  arrived  alongside  of  its  vessel,  ere  the  ship  fired  a  gun. 
This  was  the  signal  of  war,  the  shot  of  that  first  gun  falling 
directly  in  the  battery,  where  it  took  off  the  hand  of  a  Kannaka, 
besides  doing  some  other  damage.  This  was  not  a  very  favor- 
able omen,  but  the  governor  encouraged  his  people,  and  to 
work  both  sides  went,  trying  who  could  do  the  other  the  most 
harm.  The  cannonading  was  lively  and  well  sustained,  though 
it  was  not  like  one  of  the  present  time,  when  shot  are  hollow, 
and  a  gun  is  chambered,  and,  not  unfrequently,  has  a  muzzle 
almost  as  large  as  the  open  end  of  a  flour-barrel,  and  a  breech  as 
big  as  a  hogshead.  At  the  commencement  of  this  century  a 
long  twelve-pounder  was  considered  a  smart  piece,  and  was 
thought  very  capable  of  doing  a  good  deal  of  mischief.  The 
main  battery  of  the  ship  was  composed  of  guns  of  that  descrip- 
tion, while  one  of  the  brigs  carried  eight  nines,  and  the  other 
fourteen  sixes.  As  the  ship  mounted  altogether  thirty,  if  not 
.thirty-two  guns,  this  left  the  governor  to  contend  with  Latteries 
that  had  in  them,  at  least,  twenty-six  pieces,  as  opposed  to  his 
own  two.  A  couple  of  lively  guns,  nevertheless,  well  served  and 
properly  mounted,  behind  good  earthen  banks,  are  quite  equal 
to  several  times  their  number  on  board  ship.     Notwithstanding 


452  the    crater: 

the  success  of  the  first  shot  of  the  pirates,  this  truth  soon  be- 
came sufficiently  apparent,  and  the  vessels  found  themselves 
getting  the  worst  of  it.  The  governor  himself,  or  Captain 
Betts,  pointed  every  gun  that  was  fired  in  the  battery,  and  they 
seldom  failed  to  make  their  marks  on  the  hulls  of  the  enemy. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  shot  of  the  shipping  was  either  buried 
in  the  mounds  of  the  battery,  or  passed  over  its  low  parapets. 
Not  a  man  was  hurt  ashore,  at  the  end  of  an  hour's  struggle, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Kannaka  first  wounded,  while  seven 
of  the  pirates  were  actually  killed,  and  near  twenty  wounded. 

Had  the  combat  continued  in  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
commenced,  the  result  would  have  been  a  speedy  and  signal 
triumph  in  favor  of  the  colony.  But,  by  this  time,  the  pirate 
admiral  became  convinced  that  he  had  gone  the  wrong  way  to 
work,  and  that  he  must  have  recourse  to  some  management,  in 
order  to  prevail  against  such  stubborn  foes.  Neither  of  the  ves- 
sels was  anchored,  but  all  kept  under  way,  manoeuvring  about  in 
front  of  the  battery,  but  one  brig  hauled  out  of  the  line  to  the 
northward,  and,  making  a  stretch  or  two  clear  of  the  line  of 
fire,  she  came  down  on  the  north  end  of  the  battery,  in  a  posi- 
tion to  rake  it.  Now,  this  battery  had  been  constructed  for 
plain,  straightforward  cannonading  in  front,  with  no  embrasures 
to  command  the  roads  ou  either  flank.  Curtains  of  earth  had 
been  thrown  up  on  the  flanks  to  protect  the  men,  it  is  true, 
but  this  passive  sort  of  resistance  could  do  very  little  good  in  a 
protracted  contest.  While  this  particular  brig  was  gaining  that 
favorable  position,  the  ship  and  the  other  brig  fell  off  to  lee- 
ward, and  were  soon  at  so  long  a  shot,  as  to  be  out  of  harm's 
way.  Thi§  was  throwing  the  battery  entirely  out  of  the  com- 
bat, as  to  any  thing  aggressive,  and  compelled  a  prompt  deci- 
sion on  the  part  of  the  colonists.  No  sooner  did  the  nearest 
brig  open  her  fire,  and  that  within  short  canister  range,  than 
the  ship  and  her  consort  hauled  in  again  on  the  southern  flank 
of  the  battery,  the  smallest  vessel  leading,  and  feeling  her  way 
with  the  lead.  Perceiving  the  utter  uselessness  of  remaining, 
and  the  great  danger  he  ran  of  being  cut  off,  the  governor  now 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  453 

commenced  a  retreat  to  his  boats.  This  movement  was  not 
without  danger — one  colonist  being  tilled  in  effecting  it,  and 
two  more  of  the  Kannakaa  wounded.  It  succeeded,  notwith- 
standing, and  the  whole  party  got  off  to  the  Anne  and  Martha. 

This  retreat,  of  course,  left  the  island  and  the  battery  at  the 
mercy  of  the  pirates.  The  latter  landed,  set  fire  to  the  buildings, 
blew  up  the  magazine,  dismounted  the  guns,  and  did  all  the 
other  damage  to  the  place  that  could  be  accomplished  in  the 
course  of  a  short  visit.  They  then  went  on  board  their  vessels 
again,  and  began  to  beat  up  into  the  western  passage,  fol- 
lowing the  colonists  who  preceded  them,  keeping  just  out  of 
gun-shot. 

The  western  passage  was  somewhat  crooked,  and  different 
reaches  were  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  This  sometimes 
aided  a  vessel  in  ascending,  or  going  to  windward,  and  some- 
times offered  obstacles.  As  there  were  many  other  passages, 
so  many  false  channels,  some  of  which  were  culs-de-sacs,  it  was 
quite  possible  for  one  ignorant  of  the  true  direction  to  miss  his 
way  ;  and  this  circumstance  suggested  to  the  governor  an  expe- 
dient which  was  highly  approved  of  by  his  friend  and  counsellor. 
Captain  Betts,  when  it  was  laid  before  that  plain,  but  expe- 
rienced seaman.  There  was  one  false  passage,  about  a  league 
within  the  group,  which  led  off  to  the  northward,  and  far  from 
all  the  settlements,  that  offered  several  inducements  to  enter  it, 
In  the  first  place,  it  had  more  of  the  appearance  of  a  main 
channel,  at  its  point  of  junction,  than  the  main  channel  itself, 
and  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  it ;  then,  it  turned  right  into 
the  wind's  eye,  after  beating  up  it  for  a  league  ;  and  at  the  end 
of  a  long  reach  that  ran  due  south-east,  it  narrowed,so  much  as 
to  render  it  questionable  whether  the  Anne  and  Martha  could 
pass  between  the  rocks,  into  a  wide  bay  beyond.  This  bay  was 
the  true  cul-de-sac,  having  no  other  outlet  or  inlet  than  the 
narrow  pass  just  mentioned  ;  though  it  was  very  large,  was 
dotted  with  islands,  and  reached  quite  to  the  vicinity  of  Loam 
Island,  or  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the  reef. 

The  main  question  was  whether  the  schooner  and  the  sloop 


454  the    crater: 

could  pass  through  the  opening  which  communicated  between 
the  reach  and  the  bay.  If  not,  they  must  inevitably  fall  into 
the  bands  of  the  pirates,  should  they  enter  the  false  channel, 
and  be  followed  in.  Then,  even  admitting  that  the  Anne  and 
Martha  got  through  the  narrow  passage,  should  the  pirates 
follow  them  in  their  boats,  there  would  be  very  little  probability 
of  their  escaping,  though  they  might  elude  their  pursuers  for 
a  time  among  the  islands.  Captain  Bctts  was  of  opinion  that 
the  two  vessels  could  get  through,  and  was  strongly  in  favor  of 
endeavoring  to  lead  the  enemy  off  the  true  course  to  the  reef, 
by  entangling  them  in  this  cul-de-sac.  If  nothing  but  delay 
was  gained,  delay  would  be  something.  It  was  always  an  ad- 
vantage to  the  assailed  to  have  time  to  recover  from  their  first 
alarm,  and  to  complete  their  arrangements.  The  governor 
listened  to  his  friend's  arguments  with  favor,  but  he  sent  the 
Neshamony  on  direct  to  the  reef,  with  a  letter  to  Pennock,  ac- 
quainting that  functionary  with  the  state  of  things,  the  intended 
plan,  and  a  request  that  a  twelve-pounder,  that  was  mounted  on 
a  travelling  carriage,  might  be  put  on  board  the  boat,  and  sent 
to  a  landing,  whence  it  might  easily  be  dragged  by  hand  to  the 
narrow  passage  so  often  mentioned.  This  done,  he  took  the 
way  into  the  false  channel  himself. 

The  governor,  as  a  matter  of  course,  kept  at  a  safe  distance 
ahead  of  the  pirates  in  the  Anne  and  the  Martha.  This  he  was 
enabled  to  do  quite  easily,  since  fore-and-aft  vessels  make  much 
quicker  tacks  than  those  that  are  square-rigged.  As  respects 
water,  there  was  enough  of  that  almost  everywhere  ;  it  being 
rather  a  peculiarity  of  the  group,  that  nearly  every  one  of  its 
passages  had  good  channels  and  bold  shores.  There  was  one 
shoal,  however,  and  that  of  some  extent,  in  the  long  reach  of 
the  false  channel  named  ;  and  when  the  governor  resolved  to 
venture  in  there,  it  was  not  without  the  hope  of  leading  the 
pirate  ship  on  it.  The  water  on  this  shoal  was  about  sixteen 
feet  deep,  and  there  was  scarce  a  hope  of  either  of  the  brigs 
fetching  up  on  it ;  but  could  the  ship  be  enticed  there,  and  did 
ehe  only  strike  with  good  way  on  her,  and  on  a  falling  tide,  her 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  455 

berth  might  he  made  very  uncomfortable.  Although  this  hope 
appeared  faintly  in  the  background  of  the  governor's  project, 
his  principal  expectation  was  that  of  being  ahle  to  decoy  the 
strangers  into  a  cul-de-sac,  and  to  embarrass  them  with  delays 
and  losses.  As  soon  as  the  Neshamony  was  out  of  sight,  the 
Anne  and  Martha,  therefore,  accompanied  by  the  other  boats, 
stood  into  the  false  channel,  and  went  off  to  the  northward 
merrily,  with  a  leading  wind.  When  the  enemy  reached  the 
point,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  follow,  actually  setting  studding- 
sails  in  their  eagerness  not  to  be  left  too  far  behind.  It  is  prob- 
able that  Waally  was  of  but  little  service  to  his  allies  just  then, 
for,  after  all,  the  knowledge  of  that  chief  was  limited  to  a  very 
imperfect  acquaintance  with  such  channels  as  would  admit  of 
the  passage  of  even  canoes.  The  distances  were  by  no  means 
trifling  in  these  crooked  passages.  By  the  true  channel,  it  was 
rather  more  than  seven-and-twenty  miles  from  the  western  roads 
to  the  reef;  but  it  was  fully  ten  more  by  this  false  channel, 
even  deducting  the  half  league  where  there  was  no  passage  at 
all,  or  the  bottom  of  the  bag.  Now,  it  required  time  to  beat 
up  such  a  distance,  and  the  sun  was  setting  when  the  governor 
reached  the  shoal  already  mentioned,  about  which  he  kept 
working  for  some  time,  in  the  hope  of  enticing  the  ship  on  it 
in  the  dark.  But  the  pirates  were  too  wary  to  be  misled  in 
this  fashion.  The  light  no  sooner  left  them  than  they  took  in 
all  their  canvas  and  anchored.  It  is  probable,  that  they  believed 
themselves  on  their  certain  way  to  the  reef,  and  felt  indisposed 
to  risk  any  thing  by  adventuring  in  the  obscurity.  Both 
ies,  consequently,  prepared  to  pass  the  night  at  their  an- 
chors. 

The  Anne  and  Martha  were  now  within  less  than  a  mile  of 
the  all-important  passage,  through  which  they  were  to  make 
their  escape,  if  they  escaped  at  all.  The  opportunity  of  ascer- 
taining the  fact  was  not  to  be  neglected,  and  it  was  no  sooner  so 
dark  as  to  veil  his  movements,  than  the  governor  went  on  board 
the  Martha,  which  was  a  vessel' of  more  beam  than  the  Anne, 
and  beat  her  up  to  the  rocks,  in  order  to  make  a  trial  of  its  ca- 


456  the    crater: 

pacity.  It  was  just  possible  to  take  the  sloop  through  in  sev- 
eral places ;  but  in  one  spot  the  rocks  came  too  near  together 
to  admit  of  her  being  hauled  between  them.  The  circumstan- 
ces would  not  allow  of  delay,  and  to  work  everybody  went,  with 
such  implements  as  offered,  to  pick  away  the  rock  and  to  open 
a  passage.  By  midnight  this  was  done ;  and  the  Martha  *vas 
carried  through  into  the  bay  beyond.  Here  she  stood  off  a 
short  distance  and  anchored.  The  governor  went  back  to  his 
own  craft  and  moved  her  about  a  mile,  being  apprehensive  of  a 
boat  attack  in  the  darkness,  should  he  remain  where  he  was. 
This  precaution  was  timely,  for  in  the  morning,  after  day  had 
dawned,  no  less  than  seven  boats  were  seen  pulling  down  to  the 
pirates,  which  had,  no  doubt,  been  looking  for  the  schooner  and 
the  sloop  in  vain.  The  governor  got  great  credit  for  this  piece 
of  management ;  more  even  than  might  have  been  expected, 
the  vulgar  usually  bestowing  their  applause  on  acts  of  a  glitter- 
ing character,  rather  than  on  those  Avhich  denote  calculation 
and  forethought. 

As  the  day  advanced  the  pirates  recommenced  their  opera- 
tions. The  delay,  however,  had  given  the  colonists  a  great  ad- 
vantage. There  had  been  time  to  communicate  with  the  reef, 
and  to  receive  the  gun  sent  for.  It  had  greatly  encouraged  the 
people  up  at  the  town,  to  hear  that  their  enemies  were  in  the 
false  channel ;  and  they  redoubled  their  efforts,  as  one  multi- 
plies his  blows  on  a  retreating  enemy.  Pennock  sent  the  gov- 
ernor most  encouraging  reports,  and  gave  him  to  understand 
that  he  had  ordered  nearly  all  the  men  in  from  the  out-posts, 
leaving  just  enough  to  have  a  look-out,  and  to  keep  the  Kanna- 
kas  in  order.  As  it  was  now  understood  that  the  attack  must 
be  on  the  capital,  there  was  every  reason  for  taking  this  course. 

All  the  vessels  were  soon  under  way  again.  The  pirates 
missed  the  Martha,  which,  they  rightly  enough  supposed  had 
gone  ahead.  They  were  evidently  a  good  deal  puzzled  about 
the  channel,  but  supposed  it  must  be  somewhere  to  windward. 
In  the  meantime  the  governor  kept  the  Anne  manoeuvring 
around  the  shoal,  in  the  hope  of  luring  the  ship  on  it.     Nor 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  45? 

was  he  without  rational  Lopes  of  success,  for  the  hrigs  separa- 
ted, one  going  close  to  each  side  of  the  sound,  to  look  for  the 
outlet,  while  the  ship  kept  beating  up  directly  in  its  centre, 
making  a  sinuous  course  toward  the  schooner,  which  was 
always  near  the  shallow  water.  At  length  the  governor  was 
fully  rewarded  for  his  temerity  ;  the  admiral  had  made  a  stretch 
that  carried  him  laterally  past  the  lee  side  of  the  shoal,  and 
when  he  went  about,  he  looked  directly  for  the  Anne,  which 
was  standing  back  and  forth  near  its  weather  margin.  Here 
the  governor  held  on,  until  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
ship  just  verging  on  the  weather  side  of  the  shoal,  when  he  up 
helm,  and  stood  off  to  leeward,  as  if  intending  to  pass  out  of 
the  cul-de-sac  by  the  way  he  had  entered,  giving  his  pursuers 
the  slip.  This  bold  manoeuvre  took  the  pirate  admiral  by  sur- 
prise, and  being  in  the  vessel  that  was  much  the  nearest  to  the 
Anne,  he  up  helm,  and  was  plumped  on  the  shoal,  with  strong 
way  on  him,  in  less  than  five  minutes !  The  instant  the  gov- 
ernor saw  this,  he  hauled  his  wind  and  beat  back  again,  passing 
the  broadside  of  the  ship  with  perfect  impunity,  her  people 
being  too  much  occupied  with  their  own  situation  to  think  of 
their  guns,  or  of  molesting  him. 

The  strange  ship  had  run  aground  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
spot  where  the  twelve-pounder  was  planted,  and  that  gun  now 
opened  on  her  with  great  effect.  She  lay  quartering  to  this 
new  enemy,  and  the  range  was  no  sooner  obtained,  than  every 
shot  hulled  her.  The  governor  now  landed,  and  went  to  work 
Beriously,  first  ordering  the  Anne  carried  through  the  pass,  to 
place  her  beyond  the  reach  of  the  brigs.  A  forge  happened  to 
be  in  the  Anne,  to  make  some  repairs  to  her  irou  work,  and 
this  forge — a  small  one,  it  was  true — was  taken  ashore,  and  an 
attempt  was  made  to  heat  some  shot  in  it.  The  shot  had  been 
put  into  the  forge  an  hour  or  two  before,  but  a  fair  trial  was 
not  made  until  the  whole  apparatus  was  landed.  For  the  next 
hour  the  efforts  of  both  sides  were  unremitted.  One  of  the 
brigs  went  to  the  assistance  of  the  admiral,  while  the  other  en- 
deavored to  silence  the  gun,  which  was  too  securely  placed, 
20 


453  the    crater: 

♦ 

however,  to  mind  her  broadsides.  One  shot  hulling  her,  soon 
drove  her  to  leeward  ;  after  which,  all  the  attention  of  the 
pirates  was  bestowed  on  their  ship. 

The  admiral,  beyond  all  doubt,  was  very  awkwardly  placed. 
He  had  the  whole  width  of  the  shoal  to  leeward  of  him  ; 
could  only  get  off  by  working  directly  in  the  face  of  the  fire ; 
and  had  gone  on  with  seven  knots  way  on  his  ship.  The 
bottom  was  a  soft  mud;  and  the  colonists  knew  that  nothing 
but  anchors  laid  to  windward,  with  a  heavy  strain  and  a  good 
deal  of  lightening,  would  ever  take  that  vessel  out  of  her  soft 
berth.  Of  this  fact  the  pirates  themselves  soon  began  to  be 
convinced,  for  they  were  seen  pumping  out  their  water.  As  for 
the  brigs,  they  were  by  no  means  well  handled.  Instead  of 
closing  with  the  battery,  and  silencing  the  gun,  as  they  might 
have  done,  they  kept  aloof,  and  even  rendered  less  assistance  to 
the  ship  than  was  in  their  power.  In  point  of  fact,  they  were 
in  confusion,  and  manifested  that  want  of  order  and  submission 
to  authority,  as  well  as  self-devotion,  that  would  have  been 
shown  among  men  in  an  honest  service :  guilt  paralyzed  their 
efforts,  rendering  them  timid  and  distrustful. 

After  near  two  hours  of  cannonading,  during  which  the  colo- 
nists had  done  the  pirates  a  good  deal  of  damage,  and  the 
pirates  literally  had  not  injured  the  colonists  at  all,  the  governor 
was  ready  with  his  hot  shot,  which  he  had  brought  to  some- 
thing more  than  a  red  heat.  The  gun  was  loaded  with  great 
care,  and  fired,  after  having  been  deliberately  pointed  by 
the  governor  himself.  The  ship  was  hulled,  and  a  trifling  ex- 
plosion followed  on  board.  That  shot  materially  added  to  the 
confusion  among  the  pirates,  and  it  was  immediately  followed 
by  another,  which  struck,  also.  It  was  now  so  apparent  that 
confusion  prevailed  among  the  pirates,  that  the  governor  would 
not  take  the  time  necessary  to  put  in  the  other  hot  shot,  but  he 
loaded  and  fired  as  fast  as  he  could,  in  the  ordinary  way. 

In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  the  first  hot  shot  was 
fired,  smoke  poured  out  of  the  admiral's  main-deck  ports  ;  and, 
two  minutes  later,  it  was  succeeded  by  flames. 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  459 

From  that  moment  the  result  of  the  conflict  was  no  longer 
doubtful.  The  pirates,  among  whom  great  confusion  prevailed, 
even  previously  to  this  disaster,  now  lost  all  subordination,  and 
it  was  soon  seen  that  each  man  worked  for  himself,  striving 
to  save  as  much  as  he  could  of  his  ill-gotten  plunder.  The 
governor  understood  the  state  of  the  enemy,  and,  though 
prudence  could  scarcely  justify  his  course,  he  determined  to 
press  him  to  the  utmost.  The  Anne  and  Martha  were  both 
brought  back  through  the  pass,  and  the  twelve-pounder  was 
taken  on  board  the  former,  there  being  room  to  fight  it  between 
her  masts.  As  soon  as  this  was  done,  the  two  craft  bore  down 
on  the  brigs,  which  were,  by  this  time,  a  league  to  leeward 
of  the  burning  ship,  their  commanders  having  carried  them 
there  to  avoid  the  effects  of  the  expected  explosion.  The  ad- 
miral and  his  crew  saved  themselves  in  the  boats,  abandoning 
nearly  all  their  property,  and  losing  a  good  many  men.  Indeed, 
when  the  last  boat  left  the  ship,  there  were  several  of  her  people 
below,  so  far  overcome  by  liquor  as  to  be  totally  helpless. 
These  were  abandoned,  too,  as  were  all  the  wounded,  including 
Waally,  who  had  lost  an  arm  by  the  fire  of  the  battery. 

Xeither  did  the  governor  like  the  idea  of  passing  very  near 
the  ship,  which  had  now  been  burning  fully  an  hour.  In  going 
to  leeward,  he  gave  her  a  berth,  and  it  was  well  he  did,  for  she 
blew  up  while  the  Anne  and  Martha,  as  it  was,  were  considera- 
bly within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  her.  The  colonists  ever  after- 
ward considered  an  incident  connected  with  this  explosion,  as  a 
sort  of  providential  manifestation  of  the  favor  of  Heaven.  The 
Martha  was  nearest  to  the  ship  at  \he  instant  of  her  final  dis- 
aster, and  very  many  fragments  were  thrown  around  her ;  a  few 
even  on  her  decks.  Among  the  last  was  a  human  body,  which 
was  cast  a  great  distance  in  the  air,  and  fell,  like  a  heavy  clod, 
the  gunwale  of  the  sloop.  This  proved  to  be  the  body 
of  Waally,  one  of  the  arms  having  been  cut  away  by  a  shot, 
three  hour-  before  !  Thus  perished  a  constant  and  most  wily 
enemy  of  the  colony,  and  who  had,  more  than  once,  brought  it 
to  the  verge  of  destruction,  by  his  cupidity  and  artifices. 


4G0  the    crater: 

From  this  moment,  the  pirates  thought  little  of  any  thing  but 
of  effecting  their  retreat,  and  of  getting  out  into  open  water 
again.  The  governor  saw  this,  and  pressed  them  hard.  The 
twelve-pounder  opened  on  the  nearest  brig,  as  soon  as  her  shot 
would  tell ;  and  even  the  Martha's  swivel  was  heard,  like  the 
bark  of  a  cur  that  joins  in  the  clamor  when  a  strange  dog  is  set 
upon  by  the  pack  of  a  village.  The  colonists  on  shore  flew 
into  the  settlements,  to  let  it  be  known  that  the  enemy  was  re- 
treating, when  every  dwelling  poured  out  its  inmates  in  pursuit. 
Even  the  females  now  appeared  in  arms  ;  there  being  no  such 
incentive  to  patriotism,  on  occasions  of  the  kind,  as  the  cry 
that  the  battle  lias  been  won.  Those  whom  it  might  have 
been  hard  to  get  within  the  sound  of  a  gun,  a  few  hours  before, 
now  became  valiant,  and  pressed  into  the  van,  which  bore  a 
very  different  aspect,  before  a  retreating  foe,  from  that  which  it 
presented  on  their  advance. 

In  losing  Waally,  the  strangers  lost  the  only  person  among 
them  who  had  any  pretension  to  be  thought  a  pilot.  He  knew 
very  little  of  the  channels  to  the  reef,  at  the  best,  though  he 
had  been  there  thrice  ;  but,  now  he  was  gone,  no  one  left 
among  them  knew  any  thing  about  them  at  all.  Under  all  the 
circumstances,  therefore,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  admiral 
should  think  more  of  extricating  his  two  brigs  from  the  narrow 
waters,  than  of  pursuing  his  original  plan  of  conquest.  It  was 
not  difficult  to  find  his  way  back  by  the  road  he  had  come  ; 
and  that  road  he  travelled  as  fast  as  a  leading  breeze  would 
carry  him  along  it.  But  retreat,  as  it  now  appeared,  was  not 
the  only  difficulty  with  which  this  freebooter  had  to  contend. 
It  happened  that  no  kind  feeling  existed  between  the  admiral 
and  the  officers  of  the  largest  of  the  brigs.  So  far  had  their 
animosity  extended,  that  the  admiral  had  deemed  it  expedient 
to  take  a  large  sum  of  money,  which  had  fallen  to  the  share  of 
the  vessel  in  question,  out  of  that  brig,  and  keep  it  on  board 
the  ship,  as  a  guaranty  that  they  would  not  run  away  with 
their  craft.  This  proceeding  had  not  strengthened  the  bond 
between  the  parties  ;  and  nothing  had  kept  down  the  strife  but 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  461 

the  expectation  of  the  large  amount  of  plunder  that  was  to  be 
obtained  from  the  colouy.  That  hope  was  now  disappointed ; 
"and,  the  whole  time  the  two  vessels  were  retiring  before  the 
Anne  and  the  Martha,  preparations  were  making  on  board  one 
of  the  brigs  to  reclaim  this  ill-gotten  treasure,  and  Qn  board 
the  other  to  retain  it.  By  a  species  of  freemasonry  peculiar  to 
their  pursuits,  the  respective  crews  were  aware  of  each  other's 
designs ;  and  when  they  issued  nearly  abreast  out  of  the  pas- 
sage, into  the  inner  bay  of  the  western  roads,  one  passed  to 
the  southward  of  the  island,  and  the  other  to  the  northward  ; 
the  Anne  and  Martha  keeping  close  in  their  wakes. 

As  the"  two  vessels  cleared  the  island  and  got  into  open 
water,  the  struggle  commenced  in  earnest ;  the  disaffected  brig 
firing  into  the  admiral.  The  broadside  was  returned,  and  the 
two  vessels  gradually  beared  each  other,  until  the  canopies  of 
smoke  which  accompanied  their  respective  movements  became 
one.  The  combat  now  raged,  and  with  a  savage  warmth,  for 
hours  ;  both  brigs  running  off  the  land  under  short  canvas.  At 
length  the  firing:  ceased,  and  the  smoke  so  far  cleared  away  as 
to  enable  the  governor  to  take  a  look  at  the  damages  done.  In 
this  respect,  there  was  little  to  choose  ;  each  vessel  having  suf- 
fered, and  seemingly  each  about  as  much  as  the  other.  After 
consuming  an  hour  or  two  in  repairing  damages,  the  combat 
was  renewed  ;  when  the  two  colony  craft,  seeing  no  prospects 
of  its  soon  terminating,  and  being  now  several  leagues  to  lee- 
ward of  the  group,  hauled  up  for  the  roads  again.  The  brigs 
continued  their  light,  always  running  off  before  the  wind,  and 
went  out  of  sight,  canopied  by  smoke,  long  after  the  reports  of 
their  guns  had  become  inaudible.  This  was  the  last  the  gover- 
nor ever  saw  or  heard  of  these  dangerous  enemies. 


462  the    crater: 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


"  Vox  Populi,  Vox  Dei." 

Venerable  Axiom. 


After  this  unlooked-for  termination  of  what  the  colonists 
called  the  "  Pirate-War,"  the  colony  enjoyed  a  long  period  of 
peace  and  prosperity.  The  whaling  business  was  carried  on 
with  great  success,  and  many  connected  with  it  actually  got 
rich.  Among  these  was  the  governor,  who,  in  addition  to  his 
other  means,  soon  found  himself  in  possession  of  more  money 
than  he  could  profitably  dispose  of  in  that  young  colony.  By 
his  orders,  no  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  were 
invested,  in  his  name,  in  the  United  States  six  per  cents,  his 
friends  in  America  beiug  empowered  to  draw  the  dividends, 
and,  after  using  a  due  proportion  in  the  way  of  commissions, 
to  reinvest  the  remainder  to  his  credit. 

Nature  did  quite  as  much  as  art,  in  bringing  on  the  colony  ; 
the  bounty  of  God,  as  the  industry  of  man.  It  is  our  duty, 
however,  to  allow  that*  the  colonists  did  not  so  regard  the  mat- 
ter. A  great  change  came  over  their  feelings,  after  the  success 
of  the  "  Pirate- War,"  inducing  them  to  take  a  more  exalted 
view  of  themselves  and  their  condition  than  had  been  their  wont. 
The  ancient  humility  seemed  suddenly  to  disappear  ;  and  in  its 
place  a  vain-glorious  estimate  of  themselves  and  of  their  prowess 
arose  among  the  people.  The  word  "  people,"  too,  was  in 
everybody's  mouth,  as  if  the  colonists  themselves  had  made 
those  lovely  islands,  endowed  them  with  fertility,  and  rendered 
them  what  they  were  now  fast  becoming — scenes  of  the  most 
exquisite  rural  beauty,  as  well  as  granaries  of  abundance.  By 
.this  time,  the  palm-tree  covered  more  or  less  of  every  .island  ; 


or,     vulcan's"    peak.  463 

and  the  orange,  lime,  shaddock,  and  other  similar  plants,  filled 
the  air  with  the  fragrance,  of  their  flowers,  or  rendered  it  bright 
with  the  golden  hues  of  their  fruits.  In  short,  every  thing 
adapted  to  the  climate  was  flourishing  in  the  plantations,  and 
.plenty  reigned,  even  in  the  humblest  dwelling. 

This  was  a  perilous  condition  for  the  healthful  humility  of 
human  beings.  Two  dangers  beset  them;  both  colored  and 
magnified  by  a  common  tendency.  One  was  that  of  dropping 
into  luxurious  idleness — the  certain  precursor,  in  such  a  climate, 
of  sensual  indulgences  ;  and  the  other  was  that  of  "  waxing  fat 
and  kicking."  The  tendency  common  to  both  was  to  place 
self  before  God,  and  not  only  to  believe  that  they  merited  all 
they  received,  but  that  they  actually  created  a  good  share  of  it. 

Of  luxurious  idleness,  it  was,  perhaps,  too  soon  to  dread  its 
worst  fruits.  The  men  and  women  retained  too  many  of  their 
early  habits  and  impressions  to  drop  easily  into  such  a  chasm  ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  rather  looked  forward  to  producing  results 
greater  than  any  which  had  yet  attended  their  exertions.  An 
exaggerated  view  of  self,  however,  and  an  almost  total  forget- 
fulness  of  God,  took  the  place  of  the  colonial  humility  with 
which  they  had  commenced  their  career  in  this  new  region. 
These  feelings  were  greatly  heightened  by  three  agents,  that 
men  ordinarily  suppose  might  have  a  very  different  effect — 
religion,  law,  and  the  press. 

When  the  Rancocus  returned,  a  few  months  after  the  repulse 
of  the  pirates,  she  had  on  board  of  her  some  fifty  emigrants ; 
the  council  still  finding  itself  obliged  to  admit  the  friends  of 
families  already  settled  in  the  colony,  on  due  application.  TJn- 
happily,  among  these  emigrants  were  a  printer,  a  lawyer,  and 
33  than  four  persons  who  might  be  termed  divines.  Of 
the  last,  one  was  a  Presbyterian,  one  a  Methodist,  the  third 
was  a  Baptist,  and  the  fourth  a  Quaker.  Not  long  after  the  arri- 
val of  this  importation,  its  consequences  became  visible.  The 
sectaries  commenced  with  a  thousand  professions  of  brotherly 
love,  and  a  great  parade  of  Christian  charity ;  indeed,  they  pre- 
tended that  they  had   emigrated  in  order  to  enjoy   a  higher 


404  the    crater: 

degree  of  religious  liberty  than  was  now  to  be  found  in  Amer- 
ica, where  men  were  divided  into  sects,  thinking  more  of  their 
distinguishing  tenets  than  of  the  Being  whom  they  professed  to 
serve.  Forgetting  the  reasons  which  brought  them  from  home, 
or  quite  possibly  carrying  out  the  impulses  which  led  them  to 
resist  their  former  neighbors,  these  men  set  to  work,  imme- 
diately, to  collect  followers  and  believers  after  their  own  pecu- 
liar notions.  Parson  Eornblower,  who  had  hitherto  occupied 
the  ground  by  himself,  but  who  was  always  a  good  deal  inclined 
to  what  are  termed  "  distinctive  opinions,"  buckled  on  his 
armor,  and  took  the  field  in  earnest.  In  order  that  the  sheep 
of  one  flock  should  not  be  mistaken  for  the  sheep  of  another, 
greal  care  was  taken  to  mark  each  and  all  with  the  brand  of 
sect.  One  clipped  an  ear,  another  smeared  the  wool  (or  drew 
ii  over  the  eyes),  and  a  third,  as  was  the  case  with  Friend 
Stephen  Dightou,  the  Quaker,  put  on  an  entire  covering,  so 
that  his  sheep  might  be  known  by  their  outward  symbols,  far 
as  they  could  be  seen.  In  a  word,  on  those  remote  and  sweet 
islands,  which,  basking  in  the  sun  and  cooled  by  the  trades, 
seemed  designed  by  Providence  to  sing  hymns  daily  and  hourly 
to  their  Maker's  praise,  the  subtleties  of  sectarian  faith  smother- 
ed that  humble  submission  to  the  divine  law  by  trusting  solely 
to  the  mediation,  substituting  in  its  place  immaterial  obser- 
vances and  theories  which  were  much  more  strenuously  urged 
than  clearly  understood.  The  devil,  in  the  form  of  a  "  profes- 
sor," once  again  entered  Eden  ;  and  the  peak,  with  so  much  to 
raise  the  soul  above  the  grosser  strife  of  men,  was  soon  ringing 
with  discussions  on  "free  grace,"  "immersion,"  "spiritual 
baptism,"  and  the  "apostolical  succession."  The  birds  sang 
as  sweetly  as  ever,  and  their  morning  and  evening  songs  hymned 
the  praises  of  their  Creator  as  of  old  ;  but  not  so  was  it  with  the 
morning  and  evening  devotions  of  men.  These  last  began  to 
pray  at  each  other,  and  if  Mr.  Hornblower  was  an  exception,  it 
was  because  his  admirable  liturgy  did  not  furnish  him  with  the 
means  of  making  these  forays  into  the  enemy's  camp. 

Nor  did  the  accession  of  law  and  intelligence  help  the  matter 


OR,      VULCAN    S      PEAK.  465 

much.  Shortly  after  the  lawyer  made  his  appearance,  men  be- 
gan to  discover  that  they  were  wronged  by  their  neighbors,  in 
a  hundred  ways  which  they  had  never  before  discovered.  Law, 
which  had  hitherto  been  used  for  the  purposes  of  justice,  and 
of  justice  only,  now  began  to  be  used  for  those  of  speculation 
and  revenge.  A  virtue  was  found  in  it  that  had  never  before 
been  suspected  of  existing  in  the  colony ;  it  being  discovered 
that  men  could  make  not  only  very  comfortable  livings,  but,  in 
some  cases,  get  rich  by  the  law  ;  not  by  its  practice,  but  by  its 
practices.  Now  came  into  existence  an  entire  new  class  of  phil- 
anthropists— men  who  were  ever  ready  to  lend  their  money  to 
such  of  the  needy  as  possessed  property,  taking  judgment 
bonds,  mortgages,  and  other  innocent  securities,  which  were  re- 
ceived because  the  lender  always  acted  on  a  principle  of  not 
lending  without  them,  or  had  taken  a  vow,  or  made  their  wives 
promises  ;  the  end  of  all  being  a  transfer  of  title,  by  which  the 
friendly  assistant  commonly  relieved  his  dupe  of  the  future  care 
of  all  his  property.  The  governor  soon  observed  that  one  of 
these  philanthropists  rarely  extended  his  saving  hand,  that  the 
borrower  did  not  come  out  as  naked  as  the  ear  of  the  corn  that 
has  been  through  the  sheller,  or  nothing  but  cob  ;  and  that, 
too,  in  a  sort  of  a  patent-right  time.  Then  there  were  the  la- 
borers of  the  press  to  add  to  the  influence  of  those  of  religion 
and  the  law.  The  press  took  up  the  cause  of  human  rights,  en- 
deavoring to  transfer  the  power  of  the  state  from  the  public  de- 
partments to  its  own  printing-office,  and  aiming  at  establishing 
all  the  equality  that  can  flourish  when  one  man  has  a  monopoly 
of  the  means  of  making  his  facts  to  suit  hims.elf,  leaving  his 
neighbors  to  get  along  under  such  circumstance's  as  they  can. 
But  the  private  advantage  secured  to  himself  by  this  advocate 
of  the  rights  of  all,  was  the  smallest  part  of  the  injury  he  did, 
though  his  own  interests  were  never  lost  sight  of,  and  colored 
all  he  did.  The  people  were  soon  convinced  that  they  had 
hitherto  been  living  under  an  unheard-of  tyranny,  and  were  in- 
voked weekly  to  arouse  in  their  might,  and  be  true  to  them- 
selves and  their  posterity.  In  the  first  place,  not  a  tenth  of 
20* 


466  the    crater: 

them  had  ever  been  consulted  on  the  subject  of  the  institu- 
tions at  all,  but  had  been  compelled  to  take  them  as  they 
found  them.  Nor  had  the  present  incumbents  of  office  been 
placed  in  power  by  a  vote  of  a  majority  ;  the  original  colonists 
haying  saved  those  who  came  later  to  the  island  all  trouble  in 
the  premises.  In  these  facts  was  an  unceasing  theme  of  dec- 
lamation and  complaint  to  be  found.  It  was  surprising  how 
little  the  people  really  knew  of  the  oppression  under  which  they 
labored,  until  this  stranger  came  among  them  to  enlighten 
their  understandings.  Nor  was  it  less  wonderful  how  many 
sources  of  wrong  he  exposed,  that  no  one  had  ever  dreamed  of 
having  an  existence.  Although  there  was  not  a  tax  of  any  sort 
laid  in  the  colony,  not  a  shilling  ever  collected  in  the  way  of 
import  duties,  he  boldly  pronounced  the  citizens  of  the  islands 
to  be  the  most  overburdened  people  in  Christendom!  The  tax- 
ation of  England  was  nothing  to  it;  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
proclaim  a  general  bankruptcy  as  the  consequence,  unless  some 
of  his  own  expedients  were  resorted  to,  in  order  to  arrest  the 
evil.  Our  limits  will  not  admit  of  a  description  of  the  process 
by  which  this  person  demonstrated  that  a  people  who  literally 
contributed  nothing  at  all  were  overtaxed ;  but  any  one  whu 
has  paid  attention  to  the  opposing  sides  of  a  discussion  on  such 
a  subject,  can  readily  imagine  how  easily  such  an  apparent  con- 
tradiction can  be  reconciled,  and  the  proposition  demonstrated. 
In  the  age  of  which  we  are  writing,  a  majority  of  mankind 
fancied  that  a  statement  made  in  print  was  far  more  likely  to  be 
true  than  one  made  orally.  Then,  he  who  stood  up  in  his 
proper  person  and  uttered  his  facts  on  the  responsibility  of  his 
personal  character,  was  far  less  likely  to  gain  credit  than  the 
anonymous  scribbler,  who  recorded  his  lie  on  paper,  though  he 
made  his  record  behind  a  screen,  and  half  the  time  as  much 
without  personal  identity  as  he  would  be  found  to  be  without 
personal  character,  were  he  actually  seen  and  recognized.  In 
our  time,  the  press  has  pretty  effectually  cured  all  observant 
persons,  at  least,  of  giving  faith  to  a  statement  merely  because  it 
is  in  print,  and  has  become  so  far  alive  to  its  own  great  inferior- 


or,    vui. can's    peak.  467 

it .  as  publicly  to  talk  of  conventions  to  purify  itself,  and  other- 
w  ise  to  do  something  to  regain  its  credit ;  but  such  was  not  the 
fact,  even  in  America,  forty  years  since.  The  theory  of  an  un- 
restrained press  has  fully  developed  itself  within  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  so  that  even  the  elderly  ladies,  who  once  said  with 
marvellous  unction:  "It  must  be  time,  for  it's  in  print,"  are 
now  very  apt  to  say  :  "  Oh  !  it's  only  a  newspaper  account  /" 
The  foulest  pool  has  been  furnished  by  a  beneficent  Providence 
with  the  means  of  cleansing  its  own  waters. 

But  the  "  Crater  Truth-Teller"  could  utter  its  lies,  as  a  priv- 
ileged publication,  at  the  period  of  this  narrative.  Types  still 
had  a  sanctity  ;  and  it  is  surprising  how  much  they  deceived, 
and  how  many  were  their  dupes.  The  journal  did  not  even 
take  the  ordinary  pains  to  mystify  its  readers,  and  to  conceal 
its  own  cupidity,  as  are  practised  in  communities  more  advanced 
in  civilization.  We  dare  say  that  journals  are  to  be  found  in 
London  and  Paris  that  take  just  as  great  liberties  with  the  fact 
as  the  "  Crater  Truth-Teller,"  but  they  treat  their  readers  with 
a  little  more  outward  respect,  however  much  they  may  mislead 
them  with  falsehoods.  Your  London  and  Paris  publics  are  not 
to  be  dealt  with  as  if  composed  of  credulous  old  women,  but  re- 
quire something  like  a  plausible  mystification  to  throw  dust  in 
their  eyes.  They  have  a  remarkable  proneness  to  believe  that 
which  they  wish,  it  is  true  ;  but  beyond  that  weakness,  some 
limits  are  placed  to  their  faith,  and  appearances  must  be  a  good 
deal  consulted. 

But  at  the  crater  no  such  precaution  seemed  to  be  neces- 
sary. It  is  true  that  the  editor  did  use  the  pronoun  "  we,'' 
in  speaking  of  himself;  but  he  took  all  other  occasions  to 
assert  his  individuality,  and  to  use  his  journal  diligently  in  its 
behalf.  Thus,  whenever  he  got  into  the  law,  his  columns  were 
devoted  to  publicly  maintaining  his  own  side  of  the  question, 
although  such  a  course  was  not  only  opposed  to  every  man's 
sense  of  propriety,  but  was  directly  flying  into  the  teeth  of  the 
laws  of  the  land  ;  but  little  did  he  care  for  that.  He  was  a 
public  servant,  and,  of  course,  all  he  did  was  right.    To  be  sure, 


468  the    crater: 

other  public  servants  were  in  the  same  category,  all  they  did 
being  wrong ;  but  he  had  the  means  of  telling  his  own  story, 
and  a  large  number  of  gaping  dunces  were  ever  ready  to  believe 
him.  His  manner  of  tilling  his  larder  is  particularly  worthy  of 
being  mentioned.  Quite  as  often  as  once  a  week,  his  journal 
had  some  such  elegant  article  as  this,  viz.:  "  Our  esteemed 
friend,  Peter  Snooks" — perhaps  it  was  Peter  Snooks,  Esquire 
— '•  has  just  brought  us  a  fair  specimen  of  his  cocoa-nuts,  which 
we  do  not  hesitate  in  recommending  to  the  housekeepers  of  the 
crater,  as  among  the  choicest  of  the  group."  Of  course,  'Squire 
Snooks  was  grateful  for  this  puff,  and  often  brought  more 
cocoa-nuts.  The  same  great  supervision  was  extended  to  the 
bananas,  the  bread-fruit,  the  cucumbers,  the  melons,  and  even 
the  squashes,  and  always  with  the  same  results  to  the  editorial 
lanlcr.  Once,  however,  this  worthy  did  get  himself  in  a  quan- 
dary with  his  use  of  the  imperial  pronoun.  A  mate  of  one  of 
the  vessels  inflicted  personal  chastisement  on  him,  for  some 
impertinent  comments  he  saw  lit  to  make  on  the  honest  tar's 
vessel ;  and,  this  being  matter  of  intense  interest  to  the  public 
mind,  he  went  into  a  detail  of  all  the  evolutions  of  the  combat. 
Other  men  may  pull  each  other's  noses,  and  inflict  kicks  and 
blows,  without  the  world's  caring  a  straw  about  it;  but  the 
editorial  interest  is  too  intense  to  be  overlooked  in  this  manner. 
A  bulletin  of  the  battle  was  published — the  editor,  speaking  of 
himself  always  in  the  plural,  out  of  excess  of  modesty,  and  to 
avoid  egotism  (!) — in  three  columns,  which  were  all  about  him- 
self, using  such  expressions  as  these:  "We  now  struck  our 
antagonist  a  blow  with  our  fist,  and  followed  this  up  with  a 
kick  of  our  foot,  and  otherwise  we  made  an  assault  on  him  that 
he  will  have  reason  to  remember  to  his  dying  day."  Now 
these  expressions,  for  a  time,  set  all  the  old  women  in  the  colo- 
nv  against  the  editor,  until  he  went  into  an  elaborate  explana- 
tion, showing  that  his  modesty  was  so  painfully  sensitive  that 
he  could  not  say  /  on  any  account,  though  he  occupied  three 
more  columns  of  his  paper  in  explaining  the  state  of  our  feel- 
ings.    But  at  first,  the  cry  went  forth  that  the  battle  had  been 


on,      V  U  L  C  A  X '  S     PEAK.  .     469 

of  two  against  one,  and  that  even  the  simple-minded  colonists 
set  down  as  somewhat  cowardly.  So  much  for  talking  ahout 
we  in  the  bulletin  of  a  single- combat ! 

The  political  effects  produced  by  this  paper,  however,  were 
much  the  most  material  part  of  its  results.  Whenever  it 
offended  and  disgusted  its  readers  by  its  dishonesty,  selfish- 
ness, vulgarity,  and  lies — and  it  did  this  every  week,  being  a 
hebdomadal — it  recovered  the  ground  it  had  lost  by  beginning 
to  talk  of  "the  people"  and  their  rights.  This  the  colonists 
could  not  withstand.  All  their  sympathies  were  enlisted  in  be- 
half of  him  who  thought  so  much  of  their  rights  ;  and,  at  the 
very  moment  he  was  trampling  on  these  rights,  to  advance  his 
own  personal  views,  and  even  treating  them  with  contempt  by 
uttering  the  trash  he  did,  they  imagined  that  he  and  his  paper 
in  particular,  and  its  doctrines  in  general,  were  a  sort  of  gift 
from  Heaven  to  form  the  palladium  of  their  precious  liberties  ! 

The  great  theory  advanced  by  this  editorial  tyro  was,  that  a 
majority  of  any  community  had  a  right  to  do  as  it  pleased. 
The  governor  early  saw,  not  only  the  fallacies,  but  the  danger 
of  this  doctrine  ;  and  he  wrote  several  communications  himself, 
in  order  to  prove  that  it  was  false.  If  true,  he  contended  it 
was  true  altogether  ;  and  that  it  must  be  taken,  if  taken  as  an 
axiom  at  all,  with  its  largest  consequences.  Now,  if  a  majority 
has  a  right  to  rule,  in  this  arbitrary  manner,  it  has  a  right  to 
set  its  dogmas  above  the  commandments,  and  to  legalize  theft, 
murder,  adultery,  and  all  the  other  sins  denounced  in  the  twen- 
tieth chapter  of  Exodus.  This  was  a  poser  to  the  demagogue, 
but  he  made  an  effort  to  get  rid  of  it,  by  excepting  the  laws  of 
God,  which  he  allowed  that  even  majorities  were  bound  to  re- 
spect. Thereupon,  the  governor  replied  that  the  laws  of  God 
were  nothing  but  the  great  principles  which  ought  to  govern 
human  conduct,  and  that  his  concession  was  an  avowal  that 
there  was  a  power  to  which  majorities  should  defer.  Now, 
this  was  just  as  true  of  minorities  as  it  was  of  majorities,  and 
the  amount  of  it  all  was  that  men,  in  establishing  governments, 
merely  set  up  a  standard  of  principles  which   they   pledged 


470  the    crater: 

themselves  to  respect ;  and  that,  even  in  the  most  democratical 
communities,  all  that  majorities  could  legally  effect  was  to  decide 
certain  minor  questions  which,  being  necessarily  referred  to  some 
tribunal  for  decision,  was  of  preference  referred  to  them.  If 
there  was  a  power  superior  to  the  will  of  the  majority,  in  the 
management  of  human  affairs,  then  majorities  were  not  su- 
preme ;  and  it  behooved  the  citizen  to  regard  the  last  as  only 
what  they  really  are,  and  what  they  were  probably  designed 
to  be — tribunals  subject  to  the  control  of  certain  just  prin- 
ciples. 

Constitutions,  or  the  fundamental  law,  the  governor  went  on 
to  say,  were  meant  to  be  the  expression  of  those  just  and  gen- 
eral principles  which  should  control  human  society,  and  as  such 
should  prevail  over  majorities.  Constitutions  were  expressly 
intended  to  defend  the  rights  of  minorities  ;  since,  without  them, 
each  question  or  interest  might  be  settled  by  the  majority  as  it 
arose.  It  was  but  a  truism  to  say  that  the  oppression  of  the 
majority  was  the  worst  sort  of  oppression  ;  since  the  parties  in- 
jured not  only  endured  the  burden  imposed  .by  many,  but  were 
cut  off  from  the  sympathy  of  their  kind,  which  can  alleviate 
much  suffering,  by  the  inherent  character  of  the  tyranny. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  good  sense,  and  much  truth  in 
what  the  governor  wrote  on  this  occasion ;  but  of  what  avail 
could  it  prove  with  the  ignorant  and  short-sighted,  who  put 
more  trust  in  one  honeyed  phrase  of  the  journal  that  nourished 
about  the  "people,"  and  their  "  rights,"  than  in  all  the  argu- 
ments that  reason,  sustained  even  by  revelation,  could  offer  to 
show  the  fallacies  and  dangers  of  this  new  doctrine.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  the  wiles  of  the  demagogue  were  not  without 
fruits.  Although  every  man  in  the  colony,  either  in  his  own 
person  or  in  that  of  his  parent  or  guardian,  had  directly  entered 
into  the  covenants  of  the  fundamental  law,  as  that  law  then  ex- 
isted, they  now  began  to  quarrel  with  its  provisions,  and  to  ad- 
vance doctrines  that  would  subvert  every  thing  as  established, 
in  order  to  put  something  new  and  untried  in  its  place.  Prog- 
ress was  the  great  desideratum  ;    and  change  was  the  hand 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  471 

maiden  of  progress.  A  sort  of  "  puss-in-the-corner"  game  was 
started,  which  was  to  enable  those  who  had  no  places  to  run  into 
the  seats  of  those  who  had.  This  is  a  favorite  pursuit  of  man 
all  over  the  world — in  monarchies,  as  well  as  in  democracies ; 
for,  after  all  that  institutions  can  effect,  there  is  little  change  in 
men  by  putting  on  or  in  taking  off  ermine  and  robes,  or  in 
wearing  "republican  simplicity,"  in  office  or  out  of 'office;  but 
the  demagogue  is  nothing  but  the  courtier,  pouring  out  his  hom- 
age in  the  gutters,  instead  of  in  an  ante-chamber. 

Nor  did  the  governor  run  into  extremes  in  his  attempts  to 
restrain  the  false  reasoning  and  exaggerations  of  the  demagogue 
and  his  deluded  or  selfish  followers.  Nothing  would  be  easier 
than  to  demonstrate  that  their  notions  of  the  rights  of  numbers 
were  wrong;  to  demonstrate  that  were  their  theories  carried  out 
in  practice,  there  could  be,  and  would  be  nothing  permanent  or 
settled  in  human  affairs ;  yet  not  only  did  each  lustrum,  but 
each  year,  each  month,  each  week,  each  hour,  each  minute  de- 
mand its  reform.  Society  must  be  periodically  reduced  to  its 
elements,  in  order  to  redress  grievances.  The  governor  did  not 
deny  that  men  had  their  natural  rights,  at  the  very  moment  be 
insisted  that  these  rights  were  just  as  much  a  portion  of  the  mi- 
nority as  of  the  majority.  He  was  perfectly  willing  that  equal 
laws  should  prevail,  as  equal  laws  did  prevail  in  the  colony, 
though  he  was  not  disposed  to  throw  every  thing  into  confusion 
merely  to  satisfy  a  theory.  For  a  long  time,  therefore,  he  op- 
posed the  designs  of  the  new  school,  and  insisted  on  his  vested 
rights,  as  established  in  the  fundamental  law,  which  had  made 
him  ruler  for  life.  But  "  it  is  hard  to  kick  against  the  pricks." 
Although  the  claim  of  the  governor  was  in  every  sense  connect- 
ed with  justice,  perfectly  sacred,  it  could  not  resist  the  throes 
of  cupidity,  selfishness,  and  envy.  By  this  time  the  newspaper 
— that  palladium  of  liberty — had  worked  the  minds  of  the  mass- 
es to  a  state  in  which  the  naked  pretension  of  possessing  rights 
that  were  not  common  to  everybody  else  was,  to  the  last  degree, 
"  tolerable  and  not  to  be  endured."  To  such  a  height  did  the 
fever  of  liberty  rise,  that  men  assumed  a  right  to  quarrel  with 


472  the    crater: 

the  private  habits  of  the  governor  and  his  family — some  pro- 
nouncing him  proud  because  he  did  not  neglect  his  teeth,  as 
the  majority  did,  eat  when  they  ate,  and  otherwise  presumed  to 
be  of  different  habits  from  those  around  him.  Some  even  ob- 
jected to  him  because  he  spat  in  his  pocket-handkerchief,  and 
did  not  blow  his  nose  with  his  fingers. 

All  this  time  religion  was  running  riot,  as  well  as  politics. 
The  next-door  neighbors  hated  each  other  most  sincerely,  be- 
cause they  took  different  views  of  regeneration,  justification, 
predestination,  and  all  the  other  subtleties  of  doctrine.  Wbat 
was  remarkable,  they  who  had  the  most  clouded  notions  of  such 
subjects  were  the  loudest  in  their  denunciations.  Unhappily, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Ilornblower,  who  had  possession  of  the  ground, 
took  a  course  which  had  a  tendency  to  aggravate,  instead  of 
lessening  this  strife  among  the  sects.  Had  he  been  prudent,  he 
would  have  proclaimed  louder  than  ever  "  Christ,  and  him  cru- 
cified ;"  but  he  made  the  capital  mistake  of  going  up  and  down, 
crying,  with  the  mob,  "  the  church,  the  church  !"  This  kept 
constantly  before  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  dissenting  part  of  the 
population — dissenting  from  his  opinions,  if  not  from  an  estab- 
lishment— the  very  features  that  were  the  most  offensive  to 
them.  By  "  the  church"  they  did  not  understand  the  same  di- 
vine institution  as  that  recognized  by  Mr.  Hornblower  himself, 
but  surplices,  and  standing  up  and  sitting  down,  and  gowns,  and 
reading  prayers  out  of  a  book,  and  a  "great  many  other  similar 
observances,  which  were  deemed  by  most  of  tlrl  people  relics 
of  the  "scarlet  woman."  It  is  wonderful  about  what  insignifi- 
cant matters*  men  can  quarrel,  when  they  wish  to  fall  out.  Per- 
haps religion,  under  these  influences,  had  quite  as  much  to  do 
with  the  downfall  of  the  governor,  which  shortly  after  occurred, 
as  politics,  and  the  newspaper,  and  the  new  lawyer,  all  of  which 
and  whom  did  every  thing  that  was  in  their  power  to  destroy 
him. 

At  length,  the  demagogues  thought  they  had  made  sufficient 
progress  to  spring  their  mine.  The  journal  came  out  with  a 
proposal  to  call  a  convention,  to  alter  and  improve  thr  funda- 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  473 

mental  law.  That  law  contained  a  clause  already  pointing  out 
ths  mode  by  which  amendments  were  to  be  made  in  the  con- 
stitution ;  but  this  mode  required  the  consent  of  the  governor, 
of  the  council,  and  finally,  of  the  people.  It  was  a  slow,  delib- 
erate process,  too,  one  by  which  men  had  time  to  reflect  on 
what  they  were  doing,  and  so  far  protected  vested  rights  as  to 
render  it  certain  that  no  very  great  revolution  could  be  effected 
under  its  shadow.  Now,  the  disaffected  aimed  at  revolution — 
at.  carrying  out  completely  the  game  of  "  puss-in-the-corner" — 
and  it  became  necessary  to  set  up  some  new  principle  by  which 
they  could  circumvent  the  old  fundamental  law. 

This  was  very  easily  accomplished  in  the  actual  state  of  the 
public  mind  ;  it  was  only  to  carry  out  the  doctrine  of  the  sway 
of  the  majority  to  a  practical  result ;  and  this  was  so  cleverly 
done  as  actually  to  put  the  balance  of  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  minority.  There  is  nothing  new  in  this,  however,  as  any 
cool-headed  man  may  see,  in  this  enlightened  republic  of  ou 
own,  daily  examples  in  which  the  majority  principle  works 
purely  for  the  aggrandizement  of  a  minority  clique.  It  makes 
very  little  difference  how  men  are  ruled  ;  they  will  be  cheated  ; 
for,  failing  of  rogues  at  head-quarters  to  perform  that  office  for 
them,  they  are  quite  certain  to  set  to  work  to  devise  some 
means  of  cheating  themselves.  At  the  crater  this  last  trouble 
was  spared  them,  the  opposition  performing  that  office  in  the 
following  ingenious  manner. 

The  whole  colony  was  divided  into  parishes,  which  exercised 
in  themselves  a  few  of  the  minor  functions  of  government.  They 
had  a  limited  legislative  power,  like  the  American  town  meet- 
ings. In  these  parishes,  laws  were  passed,  to  require  the  peo- 
ple to  vote  "yes"  or  "no,"  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  there 
Bhould  or  should  not  be  a  convention  to  amend  the  constitution. 
About  one-fourth  of  the  electors  attended  these  primary  meetings, 
and  of  the  ten  meetings  which  were  held,  in  six  "  yes"  prevailed 
by  average  majorities  of  about  two  votes  in  each  parish.  This 
was  held  to  be  demonstrative  of  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of 
the  people  to  have  a  convention,  though  most  of  those  who  staid 


474  the    crater: 

away  did  so  because  they  believed  the  whole  procedure  not 
only  illegal,  but  dangerous.  Your  hungry  demagogue,  how- 
ever, is  not  to  be  defeated  by  any  scruples  so  delicate.  To 
work  these  elites  of  the  colony  went,  to  organize  an  election  for 
members  of  the  convention.  At  this  election  about  a  third  of 
the  electors  appeared,  the  candidates  succeeding  by  handsome 
majorities,  the  rest  staying  away  because  they  believed  the 
whole  proceedings  illegal.  Thus  fortified  by  the  sacred  princi- 
ple of  the  sway  of  majorities,  these  representatives  of  a  minority 
met  in  convention,  and  formed  an  entirely  new  fundamental 
law  ;  one,  indeed,  that  completely  subveiicd  the  old  one,  not 
only  in  fact,  but  in  theory.  In  order  to  ge.t  rid  of  the  governor 
to  a  perfect  certainty,  for  it  was  known  that  he  could  still  com- 
mand more  votes  for  the  office  than  any  other  man  in  the 
colony,  one  article  provided  that  no  person  should  hold  the 
office  of  governor,  either  prospectively  or  perspectively,  more 
than  live  years  consecutively.  This  placed  Mr.  Mark  Woolston 
on  the  shelf  at  the  next  election.  Two  legislative  bodies  were 
formed,  the  old  council  was  annihilated,  and  every  thing  was 
done  that  cunning  could  devise,  to  cause  power  and  influence 
to  pass  into  new  hands.  This  was  the  one  great  object  of  the 
whole  procedure,  and,  of  course,  it  was  not  neglected. 

When  the  new  constitution  was  completed,  it  was  referred 
back  to  the  people  for  approval.  At  this  third  appeal  to  the 
popular  voice,  rather  less  than  half  of  all  the  electors  voted,  the 
constitution  being  adopted  by  a  majority  of  one-third  of  those 
who  did.  By  this  simple  and  exquisite  republican  process 
was  the  principle  of  the  sway  of  majorities  vindicated,  a  new 
fundamental  law  for  the  colony  provided,  and  all  the  old  incum- 
bents turned  out  of  office.  "  Silence  gives  consent,"  cried  the 
demagogues,  who  forgot  they  had  no  right  to  put  their  ques- 
tions ! 

Religion  had  a  word  to  say  in  these  changes.  The  circum- 
stance that  the  governor  was  an  Episcopalian  reconciled  many 
devout  Christians  to  the  palpable  wrong  that  was  done  him  ; 
and  it  was  loudly  argued  that  a  church  government  of  bishops 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  475 

Mas  opposed  to  republicanism,  and  consequently  ought  not  to 
be  entertained  by  republicans.  Tbis  charming  argument,  wbicb 
renders  religious  faith  secondary  to  human  institutions,  instead 
of  human  institutions  secondary  to  religious  faitb,  thus  com- 
pletely putting  the  cart  before  the  horse,  has  survived  that  dis- 
tant revolution,  and  is  already  flourishing  in  more  eastern  climes. 
It  is  as  near  an  approach  to  an  idolatrous  worship  of  self,  as 
human  conceit  has  recently  tolerated. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  elections  followed  the  adoption  of  the 
new  constitution.  Pennock  was  chosen  governor  for  two  years ; 
the  new  lawyer  was  made  judge  ;  the  editor,  secretary  of  state 
and  treasurer ;  and  other  similar  changes  were  effected.  All 
tbe  Woolston  connection  were  completely  laid  on  the  shelf. 
This  was  not  done  so  much  by  the  electors,  with  whom  they 
were  still  popular,  as  by  means  of  the  nominating  committees. 
These  nominating  committees  were  expedients  devised  to  place 
the  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  in  a  government  of  the  many. 
The  rule  of  the  majority  is  so  very  sacred  a  thing  that  it  is  found 
necessary  to  regulate  it  by  legerdemain.  No  good  republican 
ever  disputes  tbe  principle,  while  no  sagacious  one  ever  sub- 
mits to  it.  There  are  various  modes,  however,  of  defeating  all 
"sacred  principles,"  and  tbis  particular  "sacred  principle" 
among  the  rest.  Tbe  simplest  is  that  of  caucus  nominations. 
Tbe  process  is  a  singular  illustration  of  tbe  theory  of  a  majority- 
government.  Primary  meetings  are  called,  at  which  no  one  is 
ever  present  but  the  wire-pullers  and  their  puppets.  Here 
very  fierce  conflicts  occur  between  the  wire-pullers  themselves, 
and  these  are  frequently  decided  by  votes  as  close  as  majorities 
of  one,  or  two.  Making  the  whole  calculation,  it  follows  tbat 
nominations  are  usually  made  by  about  a  tenth,  or  even  a 
twentieth  of  the  body  of  the  electors ;  and  this,  too,  on  the  sup- 
position that  they  who  vote  actually  have  opinions  of  tbeir  own, 
as  usually  they  have  not,  merely  wagging  their  tongues  as  the 
wires  are  pulled.  Now,  these  nominations  are  conclusive,  when 
made  by  tbe  ruling  party,  since  there  are  no  concerted  means 
of  opposing  them.     A  man  must  have  a  flagrantly  bad  charae- 


476  the    crater: 

ter  not  to  succeed  under  a  regular  nomination,  or  he  must  be 
too  honest  for  the  body  of  electors ;  one  fault  being  quite  as 
likely  to  defeat  him  as  the  other. 

In  this  way  was  a  great  revolution  effected  in  the  colony  of 
the  crater.  At  one  time,  the  governor  thought  of  knocking  the 
whole  thing  in  the  head,  by  the  strong  arm,  as  he  might  have 
done,  and  would  have  been  perfectly  justified  in  doing.  The 
Kannakas  were  now  at  his  command,  and,  in  truth,  a  majority 
of  the  electors  were  with  him;  but  political  jugglery  held  them 
in  duress.  A  majority  of  the  electors  of  the  State  of  New  York 
are,  at  this  moment,  opposed  to  universal  suffrage,  especially  as 
it  is  exercised  in  the  town  and  village  governments,  but  moral 
cowardice  holds  them  in  subjection.  Afraid  of  their  own 
shadows,  each  politician  hesitates  to  "bell  the  cat."  What  is 
more,  the  select  aristocrats  and  monarchists  arc  the  least  bold  in 
acting  frankly,  and  in  saying  openly  what  they  think ;  leaving 
that  office  to  be  discharged,  as  it  ever  will  be,  by  the  men  who 
— true  democrats,  and  not  canting  democrats — willing  to  give 
the  people  just  as  much  control  as  they  know  how  to  use,  or 
which  circumstances  will  allow  them  to  use  beneficially  to  them- 
selves, do  not  hesitate  to  speak  with  the  candor  and  manliness 
of  their  principles.  These  men  call  things  by  their  right  names, 
equally  eschewing  the  absurdity  of  believing  that  nature  intend- 
ed rulers  to  descend  from  male  to  male,  according  to  the  order 
of  primogeniture,  or  the  still  greater  nonsense  of  supposing  it 
necessary  to  obtain  the  most  thrifty  plants  from  the  hot-beds  of 
the  people,  that  they  may  be  transplanted  into  the  beds  of  state, 
reeking  with  the  manure  of  the  gutters. 

The  governor  submitted  to  the  changes,  through  a  love  of 
peace,  and  ceased  to  be  any  thing  more  than  a  private  citizen, 
when  he  had  so  many  claims  to  be  first,  and  when,  in  fact,  he 
had  so  long  been  first.  No  sovereign  on  his  throne  could 
write  Gratia  Dei  before  his  titles  with  stricter  conformity  to 
truth,  than  Mark  Woolston  ;  but  his  right  did  not  preserve  him 
from  the  ruthless  plunder  of  the  demagogue.  To  his  surprise, 
<is  well  as  to  his  grief,  Pennock  was  seduced  by  ambition,  and 


or,   vulcan's    peak.  477 

he  assumed  the  functions  of  the  executive  with  quite  as  little 
visible  hesitation  as  the  heir-apparent  succeeds  to  his  father's 
crown. 

It  would  be  untrue  to  say  that  Mark  did  not  feel  the  chano-e: 

....  O      J 

but  it  is  just  to  add  that  he  felt  more  concern  for  the  future  fate 
of  the  colony,  than  he  did  for  himself  or  his  children.  Nor, 
when  he  came  to  reflect  on  the  matter,  was  he  so  much  sur- 
prised that  he  could  be  supplanted  in  this  way,  under  a  system 
in  which  the  sway  of  the  majority  was  so  much  lauded,  when 
he  did  not  entertain  a  doubt  that  considerably  more  than  half 
of  the  colony  preferred  the  old  system  to  the  new,  and  that  the 
same  proportion  of  the  people  would  rather  see  him  in  the  Col- 
ony House,  than  to  see  John  Pennock  in  his  stead.  But  Mark 
— we  must  call  him  the  governor  no  longer — bad  watched  the 
progress  of  events  closely,  and  began  to  comprehend  them. 
He  had  learned  the  great  and  all-important  political  truth,  that 

THE  MORE  A  PEOPLE  ATTEMPT  TO  EXTEND  THEIR  POWER  DI- 
RECTLY OVER  STATE  AFFAIRS,  THE  LESS  THEV,  IX  FACT, 
CONTROL  THEM,  AFTER  HAVING  ONCE  PASSED  THE  POINT  OF 
NAMING  LAWGIVERS  AS  THEIR  REPRESENTATIVES  J  MERELY  BE- 
STOWING ON  A  FEW  ARTFUL  MANAGERS  THE  INFLUENCE  THET 
VAINLY     IMAGINE     TO     HAVE     SECURED     TO     THEMSELVES.        This 

truth  should  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  at  every  corner 
of  tbe  streets  and  highways  in  a  republic  ;  for  truth  it  is,  and 
truth  those  who  press  the  foremost  on  another  path  will  the 
soonest  discover  it  to  be.  The  mass  may  select  their  represen- 
tatives, may  know  them,  and  may  in  a  good  measure  so  far  sway 
them  as  to  keep  them  to  their  duties';  but  when  a  constituency 
assumes  to  enact  the  part  of  executive  and  judiciary,  they  not 
only  get  beyond  their  depth,  but  into  the  mire.  What  can, 
what  does  the  best  informed  layman,  for  instance,  know  of  the 
qualifications  of  this  or  that  candidate  to  fill  a  seat  on  the 
bench  ?  He  has  to  take  another's  judgment  for  his  guide  ;  and 
a  popular  appointment  of  this  nature  is  merely  transferring  the 
nomination  from  an  enlightened,  and,  what  is  every  tiling,  a 
responsible  authority,  to  one  that  is  unavoidably  at  tbe  mercy 


4:18  the    crater: 

of  second  persons  for  its  means  of  judging,  and  is  as  irrespon- 
sible  as  AIR. 

At  one  time,  Mark  Woolston  regretted  that  lie  had  not 
established  an  opposition  paper,  in  order  to  supply  an  antidote 
for  the  bane  ;  but  reflection  satisfied  him  it  would  have  been 
useless.  Every  thing  human  follows  its  laws,  until  checked  by 
abuses  that  create  resistance.  This  is  true  of  the  monarch, 
who  misuses  power  until  it  becomes  tyranny  ;  of  the  nobles, 
who  combine  to  restrain  the  monarch,  until  the  throes  of  an 
aristocracy-ridden  country  proclaim  that  it  has  merely  changed 
places  with  the  prince;  of  the  people,  who  wax  fat  and  kick! 
Every  thing  human  is  abused  ;  and  it  would  seem  that  the  only 
peril m1  of  tolerable  condition  is  the  transition  state,  when  the 
new  force  is  gathering  to  a  head,  and  before  the  storm  has  time 
to  break.  In  the  meantime,  the  earth  revolves  ;  men  are  born, 
live  their  time,  and  die ;  communities  are  formed  and  are  dis- 
solved ;  dynasties  appear  and  disappear ;  good  contends  with 
evil,  and  evil  still  has  its  day  ;  the  whole,  however,  advancing 
slowly  but  unerringly  toward  that  great  consummation,  which 
was  designed  from  the  beginning,  and  which  is  as  certain  to 
arrive  in  the  end,  as  that  the  sun  sets  at  night  and  rises  in  the 
morning.  The  supreme  folly  of  the  hour  is  to  imagine  that 
perfection  will  come  before  its  stated  time. 


OK,    volcan's    peak.  4*79 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"This  is  thy  lesson,  mighty  sea ! 

Man  calls  the/limpled  earth  his  own, 
The  flowery  vale,  the  golden  lea ; 

And  on  the  wild  gray  mountain-stone 
Claims  nature's  temple  for  his  throne! 

But  where  thy  many  voices  sing 
Their  endless  song,  the  deep,  deep  tone 
Calls  back  his  spirit's  airy  wing, 
He  shrinks  into  himself,  when  God  is  king  I" 

IiUBT. 

For  some  months  after  the  change  of  government,  Mark 
Woolston  was  occupied  in  attending  to  the  arrangement  of  his 
affairs,  preparatory  to  an  absence  of  some  length.  Bridget  had 
expressed  a  strong  wish  to  visit  America  once  more  ;  and  her  two 
eldest  children  were  now  of  an  age  when  their  education  had 
got  to  be  a  matter  of  some  solicitude.  It  was  the  intention  of 
their  father  to  send  them  to  Pennsylvania  for  that  purpose, 
when  the  proper  time  arrived,  and  to  place  them  under  the  care 
of  his  friends  there,  who  would  gladly  take  the  charge.  Recent 
events  probably  quickened  this  intention,  both  as  to  feeling  and 
time,  for  Mark  was  naturally  much  mortified  at  the  turn  things 
had  taken. 

There  was  an  obvious  falling  off  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony 
from  the  time  it  became  transcendantly  free.  In  religion,  the  sects 
ever  had  fair  play,  or  ever  since  the  arrival  of  the  parsons,  and 
that  had  been  running  down,  from-  the  moment  it  began  to  run 
into  excesses  and  exaggerations.  As  soon  as  a  man  begins  to 
shout  in  religion,  he  may  be  pretty  sure  that  he  is  "hallooing 
before  he  is  out  of  the  woods."  It  is  true  that  all  our  feelings 
exhibit  themselves,  more  or  less,  in  conformity  to  habits  and 


4^0  the    oratbr: 

manners,  tint  there  is  something  profane  in  the  idea  that  the 
spirit  of  God  manifests  its  presence  in  yells  and  clamor,  even 
when  in  possession  of  those  who  have  not  been  trained  to  the 
more  subdued  deportment  of  reason  and  propriety.  The  shout- 
ing and  declamatory  parts'  of  religion  may  be  the  evil  spirits 
growling  and  yelling  before  they  are  expelled,  but  these  must 
not  be  mistaken  for  the  voice  of  the  Ancient  of  Days. 

The  morals  decayed  as  religion  obtained  its  false  directions. 
Self-righteousness — the  inseparable  companion  of  the  quarrels  of 
sects — took  the  place  of  humility,  and  thus  became  prevalent 
that  most  dangerous  condition  of  the  soul  of  man,  when  he  im- 
agines  that  he  sanctifies  what  he  does — a  frame  of  mind,  by  the 
way,  that  is  by  no  means  strange  to  very  many  who  ought  to 
be  conscious  of  their  unworthiness.  With  the  morals  of  the 
colony,  its  prosperity,  even  in  worldly  interests,  began  to  lose 
ground.  The  merchants,  as  usual,  had  behaved  badly  in  the 
political  struggle.  The  intense  selfishness  of  the  caste  kept 
them  occupied  with  the  pursuit  of  gain,  at  the  most  critical  mo- 
ments of  the  struggle,  or  when  their  influence  might  have  been 
of  use  ;  and  when  the  mischief  was  done,  and  they  began  to  feel 
its  consequences,  or,  what  to  them  was  the  same  thing,  to  fancy 
that  the  low  price  of  oil  in  Europe  was  owing  to  the  change  of 
constitution  at  the  crater,  they  started  up  in  convulsed  and 
mercenary  efforts  to  counteract  the  evil,  referring  all  to  money, 
and  not  manifesting  any  particular  notions  of  principles  con- 
cerning the  manner  in  which  it  was  used.  As  the  cooler  heads 
of  the  minority — perhaps  we  ought  to  say  of  the  majority,  for, 
oddly  enough,  the  minority  now  actually  ruled  in  Craterdom, 
by  carrying  out  fully  the  principle  of  the  sway  of  the  majority 
— but,  as  the  cooler  heads  of  the  colony  well  understood  that 
nothing  material  was  to  follow  from  such  spasmodic  and  ill- 
directed  efforts,  the  merchants  were  not  backed  in  their  rising, 
and,  as  commonly  happens  with  the  slave,  the  shaking  of  their 
chains  only  bound  them  so  much  the  tighter. 

At  length  the  Rancocus  returned  from  the  voyage  on  which 
she  had  sailed  just  previously  to  the  change  in  the  constitution, 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  481 

and  her  owner  announced  Ins  intention  to  go  in  her  to  America, 
the  next  trip,  himself.  His  brothers,  Heaton,  Anne,  their 
children,  and,  finally,  Captain  Betts,  Friend  Martha,  ana  their 
issue,  all,  sooner  or  later,  joined  the  party  ;  a  desire  to  visit  the 
low  shores  of  the  Delaware  once  more,  uniting  with  the  mortifi- 
cation of  the  recent  changes,  to  induce  them  all  to  wish  to  see 
the  land  of  their  fathers  before  they  died.  All  the  oil  in  the 
colony  was  purchased  by  Woolston,  at  rather  favorable  prices, 
the  last  quotations  from  abroad  being  low  :  the  ex-governor  dis- 
posed of  most  of  his  movables,  in  order  to  effect  so  large  an 
operation.  He  also  procured  a  glorious  collection  of  shells,  and 
some  other  light  articles  of  the  sort,  filling  the  ship  as  full  as  she 
could  be  stowed.  It  was  then  that  the  necessity  of  having  a 
second  vessel  became  apparent,  and  Betts  determined  to  with- 
draw his  brig  from  the  fishery, 'and  to  go  to  America  in  her. 
The  whales  had  been  driven  off  the  original  fishing-ground,  and 
the  pursuit  was  no  longer  as  profitable  as  it  had  been,  three  fish 
having  been  taken  formerly  to  one  now — a  circumstance  the 
hierarchy  of  the  crater  did  not  fail  to  ascribe  to  the  changes  in 
the  constitution,  while  the  journal  attributed  it  to  certain  aristo- 
cratical  tendencies  which,  as  that  paper  averred,  had  crept  into 
the  management  of  the  business. 

The  vessels  were  loaded,  the  passengers  disposing  of  as  many 
of  their  movables  as  they  could,  and  to  good  advantage,  in- 
tending to  lay  in  fresh  supplies  in  Philadelphia,  and  using  the 
funds  thus  obtained  to  procure  a  freight  for  the  brig.  At  the 
end  of  a  month,  both  vessels  were  ready  ;  the  different  dwell- 
ings were  transferred  to  new  occupants,  some  by  lease  and 
others  by  sales,  and  all  those  who  contemplated  a  voyage  to 
America  were  assembled  at  the  crater.  Previously  to  taking 
leave  of  a  place  that  had  become  endeared  to  him  by  so  many 
associations  and  interests,  Mr.  Woolston  determined  to  take 
the  Anne,  hiring  her  of  the  government  for  that  purpose — 
Governor  Pennock  condescendingly  deciding  that  the  public 
interests  would  not  suffer  by  the  arrangement — and  going  in 
her  once  more  through  the  colony,  on  a  tour  of  private,  if  not 
21 


482  the    crater: 

of  official  inspection.  Bridget,  Heaton,  Anne,  and  Captain 
Betts  were  of  the  party  ;  the  children  being  left  at  the  crater, 
in  proper  custody. 

The  first  visit  was  paid  to  Rancocus  Island.  Here  the 
damage  done  by  the  pirates  had  long  been  repaired ;  and  the 
mills,  kilns,  and  other  works  were  in  a  state  of  prosperous  in- 
dustry. The  wild  hogs  and  goats  were  now  so  numerous  as  to 
be  a  little  troublesome,  particularly  the  former;  but,  a  good 
many  being  shot,  the  inhabitants  did  not  despair  of  successfully 
contending  with  them  for  the  possession  of  the  place.  There 
were  cattle,  also,  on  this  island  ;  but  they  were  still  tame,  the 
cows  giving  milk,  and  the  oxen  being  used  in  the  yoke.  These 
were  the  descendants  of  the  single  pair  Woolston  had  sent 
across,  less  than  twelve  years  before,  which  had  increased  in  an 
arithmetical  proportion,  care  having  been  taken  not  to  destroy 
any.  They  now  exceeded  a  hundred,  of  whom  quite  half  were 
cows  ;  and  the  islanders  occasionally  treated  themselves  to  fresh 
beef.  As  cows  had  been,  brought  into  the  colony  in  every  ves- 
sel that  arrived,  they  were  now  in  tolerably  good  numbers, 
Mark  Woolston  himself  disposing  of  no  less  than  six  when  he 
broke  up  his  farming  establishment  for  a  visit  to  America. 
There  were  horses,  too,  though  not  in  as  great  numbers  as 
there  were  cows  and  oxen.  Boats  were  so  much  used,  that 
roadsters  were  very  little  needed  ;  and  this  so  much  the  less, 
on  account  of  the  great  steadiness  of  the  trades.  By  this  time, 
everybody  understood  the  last ;  and  the  different  channels  of 
the  group  were  worked  through  with  almost  the  same  facility  as 
would  have  been  the  case  with  so  many  highways.  Neverthe- 
less, horses  were  to  be  found  in  the  colony,  and  some  of  the 
husbandmen  preferred  them  to  the  horned  cattle  in  working 
their  lands. 

A  week  was  passed  in  visiting  the  group.  Something  like  a 
consciousness  of  having  ill-treated  Mark  was  to  be  traced 
among  the  people  ;  and  this  feeling  was  manifested  under  a 
well-known  law  of  our  nature,  which  rendered  those  the  most 
vindictive  and  morose  who  had  acted  the  worst.     Those  who 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  483 

had  little  more  to  accuse  themselves  of  than  a  compliant  sub- 
mission to  the  wrong-doing  of  others,  in  political  matters  every- 
where the  most  numerous  class  of  all,  received  their  visitors 
well  enough,  and  in  many  instances  they  treated  their  guests 
with  delicacy  and  distinction.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  late 
governor  derived  but  little  pleasure  from  the  intercourse,  so 
much  mouthing  imbecility  being  blended  with  the  expressions 
of  regret  and  sympathy,  as  to  cause  him  to  mourn  over  the 
compliance  of  his  fellow-creatures,  more  than  to  rejoice  at  their 
testimony  in  his  own  favor. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  these  errors  of  man,  nature  and  time 
had  done  their  work  magnificently  since  the  last  "progress" 
of  Woolston  among  the  islands.  The  channels  were  in  nearly 
every  instance  lined  with  trees,  and  the  husbandry  had  assumed 
the  aspect  of  an  advanced  civilization.  Hedges,  beautiful  in 
their  luxuriance  and  flowers,  divided  the  fields  ;  and  the 
buildings  which  contribute  to  the  comforts  of  a  population, 
were  to  be  found  on  every  side.  The  broad  plains  of  soft  mud, 
by  the  aid  of  the  sun,  the  rains,  the  guano,  and  the  plough, 
had  now  been  some  years  converted  into  meadows  and  arable 
lands;  and  those  which  still  lay  remote  from  the  peopled  parts 
of  the  group,  still  nine-tenths  of  its  surface,  were  fast  getting 
the  character  of  rich  pastures,  where  cattle,  and  horses,  and  hogs 
were  allowed  to  roam  at  pleasure.  As  the  cock  crowed  from 
the  midst  of  his  attendant  party  of  hens  and  chickens,  the  ex- 
governor  in  passing  would  smile  sadly,  his  thoughts  reverting  to 
the  time  when  its  predecessor  raised  its  shrill  notes  on  the 
naked  rocks  of  the  reef! 

That  reef  itself  had  undergone  more  changes  than  any  other 
spot  in  the  colony,  as  the  peak  had  undergone  fewer.  The 
town  by  this  time  contained  more  than  two  hundred  buildi 
of  oue  sort  and  another,  and  the  population  exceeded  live  hun- 
dred souls.  This  was  a  small  population  fur  so  many  tene- 
ments; but  the  children,  as  yet,  did  not  bear  a  just  proportion 
to  the  adults.  The  crater  was  the  subject  of  what  to  Mark 
Woolston  was  a  most  painful  law-suit.       From  the  first,  he  had 


484  the    crater: 

claimed  that  spot  as  his  private  property  ;  though  he  had  con- 
ceded its  use  to  the  public,  under  a  lease,  since  it  was  so  well 
adapted,  by  natural  formation,  to  be  a  place  of  refuge  when  in- 
vasions were  apprehended.  But  the  crater  he  had  found  barren, 
and  had  rendered  fertile  ;  the  crater  had  even  seemed  to  him  to 
be  an  especial  gift  of  Providence  bestowed  on  him  in  his  mis- 
cry  ;  and  the  crater  was  his  by  possession,  as  well  as  by  other 
rights,  when  he  received  strangers  into  his  association.  None 
of  tin-  older  inhabitants  denied  this  claim.  It  is  the  last-comers 
who  are  ever  the  most  anxious  to  dispute  ancient  rights.  As 
they  can  pos-css  none  of  these  established  privileges  themselves, 
they  dislike  that  others  should  enjoy  them;  and  association 
places  no  restraints  on  their  cupidity.  Pennock,  once  in  the 
hands  of  "  the  people,"  was  obliged  to  maintain  their  rights, 
or  what  some  among  them  chose  to  call  their  rights,  and  he 
authorized  the  attorney-general  to  bring  an  action  of  ejectment 
against  the  party  in  possession.  Some  pretty  hard-faced  trick- 
ery was  attempted  in  the  way  of  legislation,  in  order  to  help 
along  the  claim  of  the  public  ;  for,  if  the  truth  must  be  said, 
the  public  is  just  as  wont  to  resort  to  such  unworthy  means  to 
effect  its  purposes  as  private  individuals,  when  it  is  deemed 
necessary.  But  there  was  little  fear  of  the  "people's"  failing. 
They  made  the  law,  and  they  administered  it,  through  their 
agents  ;  the  power  being  now  so  completely  in  their  hands  that 
it  required  twice  the  usual  stock  of  human  virtue  to  be  able  to 
say  them  nay,  as  had  formerly  been  the  case.  God  help  the 
man  whose  rights  are  to  be  maintained  against  the  masses, 
when  the  immediate  and  dependent  nominees  of  those  masses 
are  to  sit  in  judgment!  If  the  public,  by  any  inadvertency, 
have  had  the  weakness  to  select  servants  that  are  superior  to 
human  infirmities,  and  who  prefer  to  do  right  rather  than  to  do 
as  their  masters  would  have  them,  it  is  a  weakness  that  expe- 
rience will  be  sure  to  correct,  and  which  will  not  be  often 
repeated. 

The  trial  of  this  cause  kept  the  Woolstons  at  the  crater  a 
week  longer  than  they  would  have  remained.     When  the  cause 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  485 

was  submitted  to  the  jury,  Mr.  Attorney-General  had  a  great 
deal  to  say  about  aristocracy  and  privileged  orders,  as  well  as 
about  the  sacred  rights  of  the  people.  To  hear  him,  one  might 
have  imagined  that  the  Woolstons  were  princes,  in  the  full 
possession  of  their  hereditary  states,  and  who  were  dangerous 
to  the  liberties  of  the  mass,  instead  of  being  what  they  really 
were — citizens,  without  one  right  more  than  the  meanest  man  in 
the  colony,  and  with  even  fewer  chances  of  maintaining  their 
share  of  these  common  rights,  in  consequence  of  the  prejudice, 
and  jealousy,  and,  most  of  all,  the  envy  of  the  majority. 
Woolston  argued  his  own  cause,  making  a  clear,  forcible,  and 
manly  appeal  to  the  justice  and  good  sense  of  the  jury,  in  vin- 
dication of  his  claims;  which,  on  every  legal  as  well  as  equit- 
able principle,  wras,  out  of  all  question,  such  as  every  civilized 
community  should  have  maintained.  But  the  great  and  most 
powerful  foe  of  justice,  in  cases  of  this  sort,  is  slang  ;  and  slang 
in  this  instance  came  very  near  being  too  much  for  law.  The 
jury  were  divided,  ten  going  for  the  "  people,"  and  two  for  the 
right  ;  one  of  the  last  being  Bigelow,  who  was  a  fearless,  inde- 
pendent fellow,  and  cared  no  more  for  the  bug-bear  called 
the  "people,"  by  the  slang-whangers  of  politics,  than  he  did  for 
the  emperor  of  Japan. 

The  day  after  this  fruitless  trial,  which  left  Mark's  claim  in 
abeyance  until  the  next  court,  a  period  of  six  months,  the  in- 
tended travellers  repaired  on  board  ship,  and  the  brig,  with 
her  party,  went  to  sea,  under  her  owner,  Captain  Letts,  who 
had  provided  himself  with  a  good  navigator  in  the  person  of 
his  mate.  The  Rancocus,  however,  crossed  over  to  the  peak, 
ami  the  passengers  all  ascended  to  the  plain,  to  take  leave  of 
that  earthly  paradise.  Nature  had  done  so  much  for  this  place, 
that  it  had  been  the  settled  policy  of  Mark  Woolston  to  sutler 
its  native  charms  to  be  marred  as  little  as  possible.  But  the 
peak  had  ever  been  deemed  a  sort  of  West-End  of  the  colony  ; 
and,  though  the  distribution  of  it  had  been  made  very  fairly, 
who  parted  with  their  shares  receiving  very  ample  com- 
pensations for  them,  a  certain  distinction  became  attached  to 


486  the    crater: 

the  residence  on  the  peak.  Some  fancied  it  was  on  account  of 
its  climate ;  some,  because  it  was  a  mountain,  and  was  more 
raised  up  in  the  world  than  the  low  islands  near  it ;  some,  be- 
cause it  had  most  edible  birds  and  the  best  figs  ;  but  none  of 
those  who  now  coveted  residences  there  for  their  families,  or 
the  name  of  residences  then',  would  allow,  even  to  themselves, 
what  was  the  simple  fact,  that  the  place  received  its  highest  dis- 
tinction on  account  of  the  more  distinguished  individuals  who 
dwelt  on  it.  At  first,  the  name  was  given  to  several  settle- 
ments  in  the  group,  just  as  the  Manhattanese  have  their  East 
and  West  Broadway ;  and,  just  for  the  very  same  reasons  that 
have  made  them  so  rich  in  Broadways,  they  will  have,  ere  long, 
first-Fifth,  second-Fifth,  and  third-Fifth  Avenue,  unless  common 
sense  begins  to  resume  its  almost  forgotten  sway  among  the 
aldermen.  But  this  demonstration  in  the  way  of  names  did 
not  satisfy  the  minor-majority,  after  they  got  into  the  ascend- 
ant; and  a  law  was  passed  authorizing  a  new  survey,  and  a  new 
subdivision  of  the  public  lands  on  the  peak,  among  the  citizens 
of  the  colony.  On  some  pretence  of  justice,  that  is  not  very 
easily  to  be  understood,  those  who  had  property  there  already 
were  not  to  have  shares  in  the  new  lottery  ;  a  lottery,  by  the 
way,  in  which  the  prizes  were  about  twice  as  large  as  those 
which  had  originally  been  distributed  among  the  colonists. 

But  Mark  ami  Bridget  endeavored  to  forget  every  thing  un- 
pleasant in  this  visit  to  their  much-loved  home.  They  regarded 
the  place  as  a  boon  from  Providence,  that  demanded  all  their 
gratitude,  in  spite  of  the  abuses  of  which  it  was  the  subject ; 
and  never  did  it  seem  to  them  more  exquisitely  beautiful,  per- 
haps it  never  had  been  more  perfectly  lovely,  than  it  appeared 
the  hour  they  left  it.  Mark  remembered  it  as  he  found  it,  a 
paradise  in  the  midst  of  the  waters,  wanting  only  in  man  to 
erect  the  last  great  altar  in  his  heart,  in  honor  of  its  divine 
Creator.  As  yet,  its  beauties  had  not  been  much  marred  ; 
though  the  new  irruption  menaced  them  with  serious  injuries. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woolston  took  leave  of  their  friends,  and  tore 
themselves  away  from  the  charming  scenery  of  the  peak,  with 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  487 

heavy  hearts.  The  Rancocus  was  waiting  for  thein  under  the 
lee  of  the  island,  and  everybody  was  soon  on  board  her.  The 
sails  were  filled,  and  the  ship  passed  out  from  among  the  islands 
by  steering  south,  and  hauling  up  between  the  peak  and  the 
volcano.  The  latter  now  seemed  to  be  totally  extinct.  No 
more  smoke  arose  from  it,  cr  had,  indeed,  risen  from  it  for  a 
twelvemonth.  It  was  an  island,  and  in  time  it  might  become 
habitable,  like  the  others  near  it. 

Off  Cape  Horn  the  Rancocus  spoke  the  Dragon ;  Captain 
Betts  and  his  passengers  being  all  well.  The  two  vessels  saw 
no  more  of  each  other  until  the  ship  was  coming  out  of  the  Bay 
of  Rio,  as  the  brig  was  going  in.  Notwithstanding  this  advan- 
tage, and  the  general  superiority  of  the  sailing  of  the  Rancocus, 
such  was  the  nature  of  the  winds  that  the  last  encountered,  that 
when  she  passed  Cape  May  lights  the  brig  was  actually  in  the 
bay,  and  ahead  of  her.  This  circumstance,  however,  afforded 
pleasure  rather  than  any  thing  else,  and  the  two  vessels  landed 
their  passengers  on  the  wharves  of  Philadelphia  within  an  hour 
of  each  other. 

Great  was  the  commotion  in  the  little  town  of  Bristol  at  the 
return  of  all  the  Woolstons,  who  had  gone  off,  no  one  knew 
exactly  whither ;  some  saying  to  New  Holland,  others  to 
China,  and  a  few  even  to  Japan.  The  excitement  extended 
across  the  river  to  the  little  city  of  Burlington,  and  there  was 
danger  of  the  whole  history  of  the  colony's  getting  into  the 
newspapers.  The  colonists,  however,  were  still  discreet,  and  in 
a  week  something  else  occurred  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
multitude,  and  the  unexpected  visit  was  soon  regarded  like  any 
other  visit. 

Glad  enough,  notwithstanding,  were   the    near  relatives  of 

'  Bridget  and  Anne,  in  particular,  to  see  those  two  fine  young 
women  again.      Neither  appeared    much  more  than  a  twelve- 

'  month  older  than  when  she  went  away.  This  was  owing  to  the 
delicious,  yet  not  enervating  climate  in  which  both  had  lived. 
They  were  mothers,  and  a  little  more  matronly  in  appearance, 
but  none  the  less  lovely ;  then-  children,  like  themselves,  were 


488  the    crater: 

objects  of  great  interest  in  their  respective  families,  and  happy, 
indeed,  were  the  households  which  received  them.  It  in  no 
degree  lessened  the  satisfaction  of  any  of  the  parties,  that  the 
travellers  had  all  returned  much  better  off  in  their  circumstances 
than  when  they  went  away.  Even  the  two  younger  Woolstons 
were  now  comfortable,  ami  early  announced  an  intention  not  to 
return  to  the  islands.  As  for  the  ex-governor,  he  might  be 
said  to  be  rich  ;  but  his  heart  was  still  in  the  colony,  over  the 
weaknesses  of  which  his  spirit  yearned,  as  the  indulgenl  parent 
feels  for  the  failings  of  a  backsliding  child.  Nevertheless,  Brid- 
get  \\a>  persuaded  i  ■  remain  with  her  father  a  twelvemonth 
longer  than  her  husband,  for  the  health  of  the  old  gentleman 
had  become  infirm,  and  he  could  not  hear  to  part  with  his  only 
child  so  soon  again,  after  Bhe  had  once  been  restored  to  his 
arms.  It  was,  therefore,  decided  that  Mr.  Mark  Woolston 
should  till  the  Rancocus  with  such  articles  as  were  deemed  the 
most  useful  to  the  colony,  and  go  back  in  that  vessel,  leaving 
his  wife  and  children  at  Bristol,  with  the  understanding  he 
would  return  and  seek  them  the  succeeding  summer.  A  simi- 
lar arrangement  was  made  for  the  wife  and  children  of  Captain 
Betts,  Friend  Martha  Betts  being  much  in  the  practice  of  regu- 
lating her  conduct  by  that  of  Friend  Bridget  Woolston.  Betts 
sold  his  brig,  and  consented  to  go  in  the  Itancpcus  as  a  passen- 
ger, having  no  scruples,  now  he  had  become  comparatively 
wealthy,  about  eating  with  his  old  shipmate,  and  otherwise 
iating  with  him,  though  it  was  always  as  a  sort  of -humble 
companion. 

The  Heatons  determined  to  remain  in  America,  for  a  time  at 
least.  Mr.  Heaton  felt  the  ingratitude  of  the  colonists  even 
more  keenly  than  his  brother-in-law ;  for  he  knew  how  much 
had  been  done  for  them,  and  how  completely  they  had  forgot- 
ten it  all.  Anne  regretted  the  peak,  and  its  delicious  climate  ; 
but  her  heart  was  mainly  concentred  in  her  family,  and  Bhe 
could  not  be"  otherwise  than  happy,  while  permitted  to  dwell 
with  her  husband  and  children. 

When  the  Iiancocus   sailed,  therefore,  she  had   no  one  on 


or,    vulcan's    peak.  489 

board  her  but  Mark  Woolston  and  Belts,  with  the  exception  of 
her  proper  crew.  Her  cargo  was  of  no  great  intrinsic  value, 
though  it  consisted  in  articles  much  used,  and  consequently  in 
great  demand,  in  the  colony.  As  the  vessel  had  lain  some 
months  at  Philadelphia,  where  she  had  been  thoroughly  re- 
paired and  new-coppered,  she  sailed  well,  and  made  an  excel- 
lent run  to  Eio,  nor  was  her  passage  bad  as  far  as  the  straits  of 
La  Maire.  Here  she  encountered  westerly  gales,  and  the  cape 
may  be  said  to  have  been  doubled  in  a  tempest.  After  beating 
about  for  six  weeks  in  that  stormy  ocean,  the  ship  finally  got 
into  the  Pacific,  and  went  into  Valparaiso.  Here  Mark  Wool- 
ston received  very  favorable  offers  for  most  of  his  cargo,  but 
still  feeling  desirous  to  serve  his  colony,  he  refused  them  all, 
setting  sail  for  the  islands  as  soon  as  he  had  made  a  few  repairs, 
and  had  a  little  refreshed  his  crew. 

The  passages  between  Valpai'aiso  and  the  crater  had  usually 
consumed  about  five  weeks,  though  somewhat  dependent  on  the 
state  of  the  trades.  On  this  occasion  the  run  was  rather  long, 
it  having  been  attempted  to  find  a  new  course.  Formerly,  the 
vessels  had  fallen  in  with  the  crater  between  Betto's  group  and 
the  reef,  which  was  bringing  them  somewhat  to  leeward,  and 
Mr.  Woolston  now  thought  he  would  try  a  more  southern  route, 
and  sec  if  he  could  not  make  the  peak,  which  would  not  only 
bring  him  to  windward,  but  which  place  was  certainly  giving 
him  a  more  striking  object  to  fall  in  with  than  the  lower  isl- 
ands of  the  group. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  days  of 
those  suas,  that  Captain  Saunders  met  the  ex-governor  on  the 
quarter-deck,  as  the  latter  appeared  there  for  the  first  time  since 
quitting  his  berth,  and  announced  that  he  had  just  scut  look-outs 
aloft  to  have  a  search  for  the  land.  By  his  reckoning  they 
must  be  within  twelve  leagues  of  the  peak,  and  he  was  rather 
surprised  that  it  was  not  yet  visible  from  the  deck.  Make  it 
they  must  very  shortly  ;  for  he  was  quite  certain  of  his  latitude, 
and  did  not  believe  that  he  could  be  much  out  of  the  way  as 
respected  his  longitude.  The  cross-trees  were  next  hailed,  and 
21* 


490  the    crater: 

the  inquiry  was  made  if  the  peak  could  not  be  seen  ahead.  * 
The  answer  was  that  no  land  was  in  Bight,  in  any  part  of  the 
ocean  ! 

For  several  hours  the  ship  ran  down  before  the  wind,  and  the 
same  extraordinary  vacancy  existed  on  the  waters!  At  length 
an  isk.nd  was  seen,  and  the  news  was  sent  down  on  deck.  To- 
ward that  island  the  ship  steered,  and  about  two  in  the  after- 
noon she  came  up  close  under  its  lee,  and  backed  her  top-sail. 
This  island  was  a  stranger  to  all  on  board  !  The  navigators 
were  confident  they  must  be  within  a  few  leagues  of  the  peak,  as 
well  as  of  the  volcano  ;  yet  nothing  could  be  seen  of  either, 
while  here  was  an  unknown  island  in  their  places!  This  strange 
laud  was  of  very  small  dimensions,  rising  out  of  the  sea  about 
three  hundred  feet.  Its  extent  was  no  great  matter — half  a 
mile  in  diameter,  perhaps — and  its  form  nearly  circular.  A 
boal  was  lowered,  and  a  party  pulled  toward  it. 

A.s  Mr.  Woolston  approached  this  as  yet  strange  spot,  some- 
thing in  its  outlines  recurred  to  his  memory.  The  boat  moved 
a  little  further  north,  and  he  beheld  a  solitary  tree.  Then  a  cry 
escaped  him,  and  the  whole  of  the  terrible  truth  flashed  on  his 
mind.  He  beheld  the  summit  of  the  peak,  and  the  solitary  tree 
was  that  which  he  had  himself  preserved  as  a  signal.  The  re- 
mainder of  his  paradise  had  sunk  beneath  the  ocean  ! 

On  landing,  and  examining  more  minutely,  this  awful  catas- 
trophe was  fully  confirmed.  No  part  of  Vulcan's  Peak  remain- 
ed above  water  but  its  rocky  summit,  and  its  venerable  deposit 
of  guano.  All  the  rest  was  submerged;  and  when  soundings 
were  made,  the  plain — that  spot  which  had  almost  as  much  of 
heaven  as  of  earth  about  it,  according  to  the  unenlightened 
minds  of  its  inhabitants — was  found  to  be  nearly  a  hundred 
fathoms  deep  in  the  ocean  ! 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  describe  the  sickening  awe  which 
came  over  the  party  when  they  had  assured  themselves  of  the 
fatal  facts  by  further  observation.  Every  thing,  however,  went 
to  confirm  the  existence  of  the  dire  catastrophe.  These  internal 
fires  had  wrought  a  new  convulsion,  and  the  labors  and  hopes 


OR,     VULCAN    S     PEAK.  491 

of  years  had  vanished  in  a  moment.  The  crust  of  the  earth  had 
again  been  broken  ;  and  this  time  it  was  to  destroy,  instead  of 
to  create.  The  lead  gave  fearful  confirmation  of  the  nature  of 
the  disaster — the  soundings  answering  accurately  to  the  known 
formation  of  the  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  peak.  But 
in  the  peak  itself  it  was  not  possible  to  be  mistaken  :  there  it 
was  in  its  familiar  outline,  just  as  it  had  stood  in  its  more  eleva- 
ted position,  when  it  crowned  its  charming  mountain,  and  over- 
looked the  whole  of  that  enchanting  plain  which  had  so  lately 
stretched  beneath.  It  might  be  said  to  resemble,  in  this  re- 
spect, that  sublime  rock,  which  is  recognized  as  a  part  of  the 
"everlasting  hills,"  in  Cole's  scries  of  noble  landscapes  that  is 
called  "The  March  of  Empire;"  ever  the  same  amid  the 
changes  of  time,  and  civilization,  and  decay.  There  it  was  the 
apex  of  the  peak,  naked,  storm-beaten,  and  familiar  to  the  eye, 
though  surrounded  no  longer  by  the  many  delightful  objects 
which  had  once  been  seen  in  its  neighborhood. 

-Saddened  and  chastened  in  spirit  by  these  proofs  of  what  had 
befallen  the  colony,  the  party  returned  to  the  ship.  That  night 
they  remained  near  the  little  islet ;  next  day  they  edged  away 
in  the  direction  of  the  place  where  the  volcano  had  formerly 
risen  up  out  of  the  waves.  After  running  the  proper  distance, 
the  ship  was  hove-to,  and  her  people  sounded ;  two  hundred 
fathoms  of  lino  were  out,  but  no  bottom  was  found.  Then  the 
Rancocus  bore  up  for  the  island  which  had  borne  her  own  name. 
The  spot  was  ascertained,  but  the  mountain  had  also  sunk  into 
the  ocean.  In  one  place  soundings  were  had  in  ten  fathoms 
water,  and  here  the  vessel  was  anchored.  Next  day,  when  the 
ship  was  again  got  under  way,  the  anchor  brought  up  with  it  a 
portion  of  the  skeleton  of  a  goat.  It  had  doubtless  fallen  upon 
the  remains  of  such  an  animal,  and  hooking  it  with  its  flukes, 
thus  unexpectedly  brought  once  more  to  the  light  of  day,  the 
remains  of  a  creature  that  may  have  been  on  the  very  summit 
of  the  island  when  the  earthquake  in  which  it  was  swallowed 
occurred. 

The  Rancocus  next  shaped  her  course  in  the  direction  of  the 


492  the    crater: 

group.  Soundings  were  struck  near  tlie  western  roads,  and  it 
was  easy  enough  to  carry  the  vessel  toward  what  had  formerly 
been  the  centre  of  those  pleasant  isles.  The  lead  was  kept 
going,  and  a  good  look-out  was  had  for  shoals  ;  for  by  this 
time,  Mr.  Woolston  was  satisfied  that  the  greatest  changes  had 
occurred  at  the  southward,  as  in  the  former  convulsion,  the 
group  having  sunk  but  a  trifle  compared  with  the  peak  ;  never- 
theless, every  person,  as  well  as  thing,  would  seem  to  have  been 
engulfed.  Toward  evening,  however,  as  the  ship  was  feeling 
her  way  to  windward  with  great  caution,  and  when  the  ex- 
governor  believed  himself  to  be  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
centre  of  the  group,  the  look-outs  proclaimed  shoal  water,  and 
even  small  breakers,  about  half  a  mile  on  their  larboard  beam. 
The  vessel  was  hove-to,  and  a  boat  went  to  examine  the  place, 
Woolston  and  his  friend  Betts  going  in  her. 

The  shoal  was  made  by  the  summit  of  the  crater;  breakers 
appearing  in  one  or  two  places  where  the  hill  had  been  highest. 
The  boat  met  with  no  difficulty,  however,  in  passing  over -the 
spot,  merely  avoiding  the  white  water.  When  the  lead  was 
dropped  into  the  centre  of  the  crater,  it  took  out  just  twenty 
fathoms,  of  line.  That  distance,  then,  below  the  surface  of  the 
sea,  had  the  crater,  and  its  town,  and  its  people  sunk !  If  any 
object  had  floated,  as  man)-  must  have  done,  it  had  long  before 
drifted  off  in  the  currents  of  the  ocean,  leaving  no  traces  behind 
to  mark  a  place  that  had  so  lately  been  tenanted  by  human 
beings.  The  Rancocus  anchored  in  twenty-three  fathoms,  it 
being  thought  she  lay  nearly  over  the  Colony  House,  and  for 
.iight-and-forty  hours  the  exploration  was  continued.  The  sites 
of  many  a  familiar  spot  were  ascertained,  but  nothing  could  be 
found  on  which  even  a  spar  might  be  anchored,  to  buoy  out  a 
lost  community. 

At  the  end  of  the  time  mentioned,  the  ship  bore  up  for 
Betto's  group.  There  young  Ooroony  was  found,  peacefully 
ruling  as  of  old.  Nothing  was  known  of  the  fate  of  the  colo- 
nists, though  surprise  had  been  felt  at  not  receiving  any  visits 
from  their  vessels.     The  intercourse  had  not  been  great  of  late, 


OR,      VCLCAS'3      PEAK.  403 

and  most  of  the  Kannakas  had  come  away  soon  after  the 
"Woolstons  had  left ;  the  especial  friends  of  humanity,  and  the 
almost  exclusive  lovers  of  the  "people"  having  begun  to  op- 
press them  by  exacting  more  work  than  was  usual,  and  for- 
getting to  pay  for  it.  These  men  could  say  but  little  about  the 
condition  of  the  colony  beyond  this  fact.  Not  only  they,  but 
all  in  the  group,  however,  could  render  some  account  of  the 
awful  earthquake  of  the  last  season,  which,  by  their  descriptions, 
greatly  exceeded  in  violence  any  thing  formerly  known  in  those 
regions.  It  was  in  that  earthquake,  doubtless,  that  the  colony 
of  the  crater  perished  to  a  man. 

Leaving  handsome  and  useful  presents  with  his  friend,  young 
Ooroony,  and  putting  ashore  two  or  three  Kannakas  who  were 
in  the  vessel,  Woolston  now  sailed  for  Valparaiso.  Here  he 
disposed  of  his  cargo  to  great  advantage,  and  purchased  copper 
in  pigs  at  almost  as  great.  With  this  new  cargo  he  reached 
Philadelphia,  after  an  absence  of  rather  more  than  nine  months. 

Of  the  colony  of  the  crater  and  its  fortunes,  little  was  ever 
said  among  its  survivors.  It  came  into  existence  in  a  manner 
that  was  most  extraordinary,  and  went  out  of  it  in  one  that  was 
awful.  Mark  and  Bridget,  however,  pondered  deeply  on  these 
things ;  the  influence  of  which  colored  and  chastened  their 
future  lives.  The  husband  often  went  over,  in  his  mind,  all  the 
cvent3  connected  with  his  knowledge  of  the  reef.  lie  would 
thus  recall  his  shipwreck,  and  desolate  condition  when  suffered 
first  to  reach  the  rocks  ;  the  manner  in  which  he  was  the  instru- 
ment in  causing  vegetation  to  spring  up  in  the  barren  places  ; 
the  earthquake,  and  the  upheaving  of  the  islands  from  out  of 
the  waters  ;  the  arrival  of  his  wife  and  other  friends  ;  the  com- 
mencement and  progress  of  the  colony ;  its  blessings,  so  long 
as  it  pursued  the  right,  and  its  curses,  when  it  began  to  pursue 
the  wrong ;  his  departure,  leaving  it  still  a  settlement  surround- 
ed with  a  sort  of  earthly  paradise  ;  and  his  return,  to  find  all 
buried  beneath  the  ocean.  Of  such  is  the  world  and  its  rauc'.i- 
covcted  advantages.  For  a  time  our  efforts  seem  to  create,  and 
to  adorn,  and  to  perfect,  until  we  forget  our  origin  and  destiua- 


494  the    crater: 

tion,  substituting  self  for  that  divine  hand  which  alone  can  unite 
the  elements  of  worlds  as  they  float  in  gases,  equally  from  His 
mysterious  laboratory,  and  scatter  them  again  into  thin  air  when 
the  works  of  His  hand  cease  to  find  favor  in  His  view. 

Let  those  who  would  substitute  the  voice  of  the  created  for 
that  of  the  Creator;  who  shout  "the  people,  the  people,"  in- 
stead of  hymning  the  praises  of  their  God  ;  who  vainly  imagine 
that  the  masses  are  sufficient  for  all  things,  remember  their  in- 
significance, and  tremble.  They  are  but  mites  amid  millions  of 
other  mites,  that  the  goodness  of  Providence  has  produced  for 
its  own  wise  ends ;  their  boasted  countries,  with  their  vaunted 
climates  and  productions,  have  temporary  possessions  of  but 
small  portions  of  a  globe  that  floats,  a  point,  in  space,  following 
the  course  pointed  out  by  an  invisible  finger,  and  which  will 
one  day  be  suddenly  struck  out  of  its  orbit,  as  it  was  originally 
put  there  by  the  hand  that  made  it.  Let  that  dread  Being, 
then,  be  never  made  to  act  a  second  part  in  human  affairs,  or 
the  rebellious  vanity  of  our  race  imagine  that  cither  numbers, 
or  capacity,  or  success,  or  power  in  arras,  is  aught  more  than  a 
short-lived  gift  of  His  beneficence,  to  be  resumed  when  His 
purposes  are  accomplished. 


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